Livestock Breeding System

AGB - 224

Lecture II – Different Mating Systems

 Mating system
• voluntary natural process where mates of
opposite sex are attracted and copulate to
deposit male gametes to the uterus of
female for production of zygote to
continue their descendant.
• Mating systems are descriptions of mates
who mated with whom in the animal
world.
 Why use mating systems?
• Genetic Superiority –
 Have animals that are genetically superior to
other animals in the same breed or class.
 Animals are superior based on traits selected
by the breeder.
 Superiority in selected traits passes to the
progenies
• Hybrid vigor (heterosis) –
 Performance of offspring that is greater than
the average of the parents.
 Classification of mating system
A. Based on the number of mates involved
in the mating process:
i. Monogamy mating system: both males and females
have only one mate at a time.
ii. Polygamous mating system: Individuals of one or the
other sex have more than one mate during the
breeding season.
 Polygyny: is the mating system where males in a
population mates with many females. Mammalian
mating systems are predominantly polygynous.
 Polyandry mating system: is the mating system where
female mate with more than one male during breeding
season.
Classification of mating system cont….
B. Based on Phenotypic appearance:
i. Assortative mating (Preferential mating between
phenotypically similar individuals)
ii. Diassortative mating (Preferential mating between
phenotypically dissimilar individuals)
C. Based on genetic constitution of the progeny and
the parents
i. Random mating ,( any male or female mated with
opposite sex at random without selection)
ii. Breeding for increased homozygosity (line
breeding/inbreeding)
iii. Breeding for increased heterozygosity (Species crossing,
Grading up, back crossing, Criss crossing, rotational
crossing, Lauprecth crossing, genepool)
Classification of mating system cont….
D. Based on domestication :
i. Random mating (Before domestication)
ii. Controlled Mating ( after domestication of animals)
 Mating Systems
A. Increased homozygosity or decreased heterozygosity
• Inbreeding – The mating of animals more closely related than the
average of the breed or population.
There are two types of inbreeding.
i.Intensive inbreeding – Mating of closely related animals for
several generations.
ii.Linebreeding – A mild form of inbreeding that maintains a high
genetic relationship to an outstanding ancestor.
B. Decreased homozygosity or increased heterozygosity
• Outbreeding – The mating of animals not as closely related
as the average of the population.
There are four types of outbreeding
i.Species cross – Crossing of animals of different species.
(Example: Horse to donkey)
ii.Crossbreeding – Mating of animals of different established
breeds.
iii.Outcrossing – Mating of unrelated animals within the same
breed.
iv.Grading up – Mating of purebred sires to commercial grade
females and their female offspring for several generations.
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 Why Inbreeding?
• With proper use, the inheritance of
desirable traits can be concentrated in that
particular breed.
• Undesirable characteristics can be
eliminated from the herd.
Bracket pedigree and arrow pedigree showing animal A resulting from a full brother-sister mating.
Bracket pedigree and arrow pedigree showing animal X resulting from a sire-daughter mating.
 Intensive Inbreeding
• Mating closely related animals for several
generations
• Inbreeding studies show
– Increased inbreeding is usually detrimental to
• reproductive performance
• Pre-weaning and post-weaning growth
•Increases homozygocity
•Does not cause mutations
•Does increase homozygous recessive
frequency so increases frequency that mutant
genes are expressed
 Effect of inbreeding

 Inbreeding depression

• recessive alleles tend to be inferior

• causes decline in performance due to increase
in frequency of recessive homozygotes
• most decline in reproduction and livability
 Advantages / Disadvantages of inbreeding

Advantages: Disadvantages:
 Form families  Decrease in
 Produce breeding reproductive efficiency
stock  Decrease in vigor
 Develop lines for  Decrease in survival
crossbreeding rates
 Determine genetic  Decrease growth rates
value
 Linebreeding

 Mating system that causes large

relationship to one outstanding ancestor
while keeping inbreeding low

 Useful to retain genes of outstanding

individual who is not longer available for
breeding purposes

 Outstanding individual must appear in

pedigree several times at least 3-4
generations back
 Linebreeding
 Mild form of inbreeding
 Used to maintain a high genetic
relationship to an outstanding ancestor
 Mainly seed stock producers
Horse pedigree showing linebreeding.
 Why would we want to do linebreeding ?

 It is a mild form of inbreeding used to maintain

a genetic relationship to an outstanding sire.
 It is used mainly by pure breeders because
they have a hard time finding sires that are
genetically superior to the ones they are already
producing.
 They are able to take advantage of an
outstanding sire and cross with other
genetically superior animals.
 Linecrossing

 Mating unrelated individuals within a

breed

 Causes some increase in performance

(less than what is seen with
crossbreeding)
Linebreeding and Purebreeding
 Both heavily used when trying to maintain
a herd that is purebred
 Linebreeding- animals are never mated
that are half-brother or sister
 Purebreeding- animal’s lineage can be
traced back to original animals found the
breed
 Outbreeding
i. Species cross

ii. Crossbreeding

iii. Outcrossing

iv. Grading up
 Species Cross
 Can breed different species within same genus
 Outside of the genus chromosome number and
genes are different
 Example -
• Jack x Stallion = ?
• Mare horse x Jack = Hinny
 Mare mules are usually sterile
Zoological classification that identifies the major species of farm animals. Adapted from R. F. Plimpton and J. F. Stephens,
Animal and Science for Man: Study Guide (Minneapolis: Burgess, 1979).
 Species Cross
 Zebu cattle with humped cattle
• some consider crossbreeding
 Bison and Cattle
• Cattalo or Beefalo
 Sheep and goats
• fertilization but embryos die
 Genetic engineering could make more possible
 Crossbreeding: Mating between breeds
 Main reasons for crossbreeding
• breed complementation
• heterosis (hybrid vigor)
 Breed complementation
• crossing so strengths and weaknesses compliment
each other
 Heterosis increase in productivity above the
average of breeds that are crossed
 Crossbreeding
 Most commonly used in
• swine
• beef cattle
• sheep
 Little in dairy cattle
Two-breed rotation cross. Females sired by breed A are mated to breed B sires, and females sired by breed B are mated to
breed A sires.
Three-breed rotation cross. Females sired by a specific breed are bred to the breed of sire next in rotation.
Crossbreeding-Mating of individuals from
different breeds
 Benefits
A. heterosis – advantage of crossbred individual
compared to the average of the component
purebreds
i. Individual heterosis – advantage of crossbred
offspring
ii. Maternal heterosis – advantage of crossbred
mother
iii. Paternal heterosis – advantage of crossbred
sire
B. breed complementarity – using benefits from
breeds while hiding the flaws
 Heterosis
 Opposite of inbreeding depression

 Results from increase in heterozygocity

 Reproduction – large advantage from

heterosis

 Growth – moderate advantage from

heterosis

 Carcass – little advantage from heterosis

 Crossbreeding Systems

 Terminal
• Specific breed(s) of sire mated to specific
breed(s) of dam

 Rotational
• Breeds used in a regular cycle, daughters
of one breed of sire mated to next breed
of sire
 CrossbreedingSystems
• Terminal
–Uses maximum breed complementarity

–Uses maximum heterosis

–Must bring in replacement breeding stock

• Rotational
–Replacement females retained by system

–No breed complementarity

–Some loss of heterosis

 Three-Breed Rotation
• The breeding of crossbred females to
purebred males.
• Increases Hybrid Vigor
 Forming new breeds

• Formed by crossing several breeds

• Sometimes called synthetic or composite
breeds
– Example - MARC I (Charolais, Brown Swiss,
Limousin, Hereford, and Angus)
• Also used in sheep, swine, and poultry
 Species Cross
Why would we want to do a species cross?
If your desired outcome will merit
a species cross

Example – Horse bred to

a donkey to get a mule.

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 Crossbreeding
Taylor, Robert E., Scientific Farm Animal Production, 4th ed.

Why would we want to use crossbreeding?

By crossing breeds the strengths and weakness of each breed will
compliment one another.
Also increases heterosis, which increases the productivity of the
crossbred offspring above the average of breeds that are crossed.
 Outcrossing
Why would we want to use outcrossing?
 Unrelated animals of the same breed are
mated.
 In order not to inbreed, but have animals
maintain characteristics of the breed.
 Example – Unrelated animals of the same
breed are mated.

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 Grading Up
Taylor, Robert E., Scientific Farm Animal Production, 4th ed.

Why would we want to use grading up?

In order to make a commercial cow herd a purebred cow herd. Once
an offspring has 7/8 or 15/16 of the genetic make up of the desired
breed, it is considered a purebred.
This would take several generations of breeding up, but may be
profitable when purebred females of high quality are very expensive.
Relationship of the mating system to the amount of heterozygosity or homozygosity. Self fertilization is currently not an
available mating system in animals.
I Pure line breeding I
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Full-sib Mating g
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Random Mating within a breed

Line crosses within breed

Out
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Species crosses

Cross sterility Generic

crosses
 Mating system
Mating between Mating between Mating among
different species different breeds individuals within the
same breed
Species crossing Crossbreeding Mating relatives
Horses X Grading up Inbreeding
donkey=mule
Cattle X Backcrossing linebreeding
buffalo=beefalo or
catalo
Cattle X Yak = Chauri Crisscrossing Mating unrelated stock
Rotational crossing Out breeding
Lauprecht crossing Mating likes
Gene pool Mating unlikes
Unit 4, Lesson 15 - Systems of Breeding