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Genetic parameters, phenotypic and genetic trends of litter size on different breeds of goats in Egypt

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Abstract

Data of 475 goats (242 Zaraibi, 84 Baladi, and 149 Damascus) kept at Sakha Farm, belonging to Animal Production Research Institute (APRI), Ministry of Agriculture, Dokki, Cairo, Egypt, from the period of 2011 to 2017 were used to estimate direct (additive) and maternal genetic effects for litter size at birth (LSB). Three animal models were used. Model 1 includes the fixed effects of breed, season, year of kidding, age of doe, and direct genetic effect. Model 2 is similar to model 1 beside the permanent environmental effect. Model 3 is similar to model 2 and includes the maternal genetic, covariance between direct and maternal genetic effects. The effects of breed, season, year of kidding, and age of doe were significant on LSB. Heritability estimates for LSB are 0.19±0.050, 0.19±0.160, and 0.06±0.007, as estimated from models 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Maternal heritability estimate using model 3 was 0.05±0.006. The removal of additive genetic maternal effect and covariance between direct and maternal effects from the model increased heritability of direct genetic effect by 0.13. Annual phenotypic trends for LSB in Zaraibi, Baladi, and Damascus goat breeds are negative. Annual genetic trends for LSB for the three breeds of goats are positive, significant, and being 0.10±0.01, 0.25±0.02, and 0.01±0.001 litter/year for Zaraibi, Baladi, and Damascus, respectively. The present results indicated that selection for LSB will take a long time. The speed and efficiency of selection is expected to increase by use of molecular markers in selection.

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Availability of data and materials

Data used for this research are confidential but may be obtained with permission from Animal Production Research Institute, Agriculture Research Center, Ministry of Agriculture, Dokki, Cairo, Egypt.

Code availability

Codes used for analysis are available on request from the first author.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of sheep and goats, Animal Production Research Institute, Agriculture, Research Center, Giza, Egypt

    A. Abd El-Halim Heba & H. R. Metawi

  2. Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria

    A. S. Adenaike

  3. Animal production Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt

    M. El-Komy Shimma & A. S. Khattab

  4. Animal production Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Sobra, Egypt

    M. R. Anous

  5. Department Animal Science, Berry College, Mount Berry, GA, USA

    O. Peters Sunday

Authors
  1. A. Abd El-Halim Heba
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  2. H. R. Metawi
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  3. A. S. Adenaike
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  4. M. El-Komy Shimma
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  5. M. R. Anous
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  6. O. Peters Sunday
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  7. A. S. Khattab
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Contributions

HAH conceived the study. MHR, POS, ESM, AMR, and KAS designed the work. HAH, POS, and AAS did the statistical analysis. HAH, MHR, POS, AAS, ESM, AMR, and KAS were involved in writing the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to O. Peters Sunday.

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Ethics approval

The data used in the present investigation were collected from the history sheets of three breeds of goats. IACUC approval was not sought since data from the research were extracted from breeds’ historical records.

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All authors gave their consents to participate in this research work.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Heba, A.A.EH., Metawi, H.R., Adenaike, A.S. et al. Genetic parameters, phenotypic and genetic trends of litter size on different breeds of goats in Egypt. Trop Anim Health Prod 53, 286 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-021-02721-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-021-02721-3

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