Breeding for Poll in AACo: Modelling to implementation

Breeding herds with an increasing proportion of polled animals is highly topical in the Australian beef industry. Producer and public concerns surrounding dehorning mean that actively selecting for polled is an attractive option. However, balancing selection for polled with other traits and maintaining genetic diversity within a herd is challenging. Therefore, it is essential that the implications of integrating polled into an existing breeding program be considered (as accurately as possible), and as part of designing and implementing a breeding program.

In a collaboration between Australian Agricultural Company (AACo)and the University of Queensland, this project has created a highly accurate ‘digital twin’ of AACo’s seedstock breeding program. This ‘twin’ allows for the optimization of the breeding program to find the most effective pathway to a polled herd. The key part of the digital twin is the use of the genomic simulation software which uses real genotypes to simulate offspring, this allows realistic breeding values and inbreeding to be calculated for multiple generations.

The project sought to answer questions such as:

• What is the optimal blend of natural service, artificial insemination and embryo transfer in a breeding program?
• How much selection pressure can be applied for polled without compromising genetic gain for other traits?

In this BeefConnect webinar recording, listen to Dr Matthew Kelly (Principal Scientist – AACo) and Dr James Copley (Quantitative Geneticist – AACo) as they discuss:

• Breeding for poll in practice and its challenges:
  • Managing animal performance and polled.
  • Managing genetic diversity and polled.
  • Impact of scurs.
• How to use the ‘digital twin’ to drive better decision-making:
  • Predicting the rate of genetic gain for polled and other traits.
  • Examining the level of inbreeding under different selection scenarios.
  • Industry applications of the digital twin.

You can watch the full recording or use the playlist below to jump to the start of a particular section within the presentation. (41:29; published 15 July 2024 by FutureBeefAu).

Download a copy of the presentation – Breeding for Poll in AACo (PDF; 2.88 MB)

Additional resources:

• Breeding and genetics (FutureBeef)
• MLA genetics hub (MLA)

Full recording

Playlist

1. Breeding for Poll in AACo: Modelling to implementation
2. AACo – a brief introduction
3. Part 1 (Dr Matthew Kelly): MDC Project – Animal Wellbeing Extension and Adoption Partnership
4. Why breed for Poll?
5. Polled genetics (how it works)
6. Polled case study
7. What are scurs?
8. Polled case study in males
9. Genetics of scurs
10. Mitchell Poll program
11. Poll brandings at Anthony Lagoon
12. Wagyu Poll Program (it’s a marathon not a sprint)
13. Managing inbreeding in Poll Wagyu
14. Take home messages
15. Part 2 (Dr James Copley): Digital Twin Development
16. Challenges (selecting for Poll in Wagyu)
17. Solution: Digital Twin
18. Genomic simulation software
19. Inputs: Breeding program
20. Inputs: Genomic data
21. Execution (testing different breeding programs)
22. Genetic gain (index) and results
23. Genetic gain (Poll) and results
24. Inbreeding (ROH) and results
25. Case study: Small herd
26. Key take home messages
27. Future direction
28. Acknowledgements