Estimation of Heritabilities and Correlations Associated with Milk Color Traits

The objective of this study was to estimate the genetic parameters associated with milk color traits of dairy cattle. The data consisted of test day records of 9516 first lactation dairy cows and the records of 6358 of these cows that went on to produce a second lactation. Friesians, Jerseys, and cr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of dairy science 1999-01, Vol.82 (1), p.215-224
Main Authors: Winkelman, A.M., Johnson, D.L., MacGibbon, A.K.H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Ayrshire (cattle breed)
beta Carotene - analysis
beta-carotene
Biological and medical sciences
breed differences
Breeding
Cattle - genetics
Classical genetics, quantitative genetics, hybrids
color
crossbreds
dairy cows
Female
friesian
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
genetic correlation
genetic parameters
Genetics of eukaryotes. Biological and molecular evolution
heritability
heterozygosity
Heterozygote
Jersey
Lactation - genetics
lactation curve
lactation number
Lipids - analysis
milk
Milk - chemistry
milk fat
milk fat yield
milk protein yield
Milk Proteins - analysis
milk yield
Models, Genetic
Phenotype
phenotypic correlation
Pigmentation - genetics
repeatability
Spectrophotometry
Vertebrata
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Summary:The objective of this study was to estimate the genetic parameters associated with milk color traits of dairy cattle. The data consisted of test day records of 9516 first lactation dairy cows and the records of 6358 of these cows that went on to produce a second lactation. Friesians, Jerseys, and crossbred cows were included in the data. Test day records included measures of milk, fat, and protein as well as milk color measured as absorbance at 450nm. From these measurements, fat color and β-carotene yield were calculated. Analyses were performed both within and across breeds. Jerseys produced more &szligbeta;-carotene than did Friesians, and milk and fat from Jerseys had more intense color. Lactation model estimates for the heritabilities of milk color traits ranged from 0.33 to 0.44 (across breed), 0.40 to 0.49 (Friesians), and 0.17 to 0.31 (Jerseys). In all analyses, the heritability estimates associated with β-carotene yield were lower than the estimates associated with the color of milk or fat. Genetic correlations between β-carotene yield and the production traits were positive, but genetic correlations between fat color and production traits were generally negative. Genetic correlations between milk color and milk and protein yields were negative, and the correlations with fat yield were close to zero.
ISSN:0022-0302
1525-3198
DOI:10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(99)75226-4