Estimates of Heritability and Genetic Correlations for Growth Traits in Chinese Shrimp Fenneropenaeus chinensis

[Objective] The aim was to estimate the heritability and genetic correlations of growth traits of Chinese shrimp Fenneropenaeus chinensis so as to provide basis and technical parameters for the breeding and selecting of Chinese shrimp.[Method] 51 full-sib families（including 35 half-sib families）of the Chinese shrimp F.chinensis were obtained by artificial insemination.Four growth traits of these families were measured,including body length,cephalothorax length,abdorminal segment length and body weight.According to quantitative genetics theory,the heritability of each growth trait,genetic and phenotypic correlation among these traits was statistically studied.[Result] The heritability was 0.36-0.51 for body length,0.14-0.24 for cephalothorax length,0.25-0.50 for abdominal segment length,and 0.04-0.29 for body weight.High and positive genetic correlations were obtained among growth traits.The genetic correlation between body weight and abdominal segment length was the highest（0.92）,followed by body length and abdominal segment length（0.91）,body length and body weight（0.88）,body weight and cephalothorax length（0.87）,abdominal segment length and cephalothorax length（0.86）,while the genetic correlation between body length and cephalothorax length was the lowest（0.83）.[Conclusion] The phenotypic correlation of body length,cephalothorax length,abdorminal segment length and body weight of Chinese shrimp F.chinensis were from 0.80 to 0.90 with extremely significant difference（P0.01）among the four growth traits by t-test.

Heritability and genetic correlation of survival in turbot(Scophthalmus maximus)

We analyzed the survival data of the offspring from 21 sires and 42 dams of turbot. The results show that the cumulative survival rates for turbot from 2 to 18 months range from 17.5% to 28.5% main mortality occurred during months 2-5; and the highest survival rates of families were 97.9%, 98.8%, 99.4%, 99.7% during months 2-5, 5-6, 6-8, 8-11, and ll-18, respectively, and 99.5%, being 53.5%, 23.8%, 19.5%, 14.9%, and 13.2% higher, respectively, than the mean values in each period. In all periods, the estimated heritabilities for survival were very low without significant difference from zero （P〉0.05） （values ranged from 0.06 to 0.12）, indicating low additive genetic effects. The genetic correlations of survival among families in different periods were all positive, but low in magnitude （values range from 0.03 to 0.31）. Genetic correlations between long-term survival and other periods＇ survival had negative values （-0.06 and -0.15） and three positive values （0.16, 0.12 and 0.14）. Genetic correlations between survival and weight were all positive, except for survival at months 2-5 and weight at 18 months, which was not significantly negative （-0.18）.

ZResponse to selection,heritability and genetic correlations between body weight and body size in Pacific white shrimp,Litopenaeus vannamei

To quantify the response to selection, heritability and genetic correlations between weight and size ofLitopenaeus vannamei, the body weight （BW）, total length （TL）, body length （BL）, first abdominal segment depth （FASD）, third abdominal segment depth （TASD）, first abdominal segment width （FASW）, and partial carapace length （PCL） of 5-month-old parents and of offspring were measured by calculating seven body measurings of offspring produced by a nested mating design. Seventeen half-sib families and 42 full-sib families ofL. vannamei were produced using artificial fertilization from 2-4 dams by each sire, and measured at around five months post-metamorphosis. The results show that heritabilities among various traits were high： 0.515±0.030 for body weight and 0.394±0.030 for total length. After one generation of selection, the selection response was 10.70% for offspring growth. In the 5th month, the realized heritability for weight was 0.296 for the offspring generation. Genetic correlations between body weight and body size were highly variable. The results indicate that external morphological parameters can be applied during breeder selection for enhancing the growth without sacrificing animals for determining the body size and breed ability; and selective breeding can be improved significantly, simultaneously with increased production.

Decomposition Method of Genetic Correlation Coefficient Based on NC Ⅱ Mating Design

There are different degrees of correlation between crop traits. The phenotypic correlation is decomposed into genetic and environmental correlation in quantitative genetics. In this paper,according to stochastic model of variance and covariance analysis,we calculate different genetic components,bring up a decomposition method of genetic correlation coefficient based on NC II mating design,and use examples to show analytic steps and interpret results.

Heritability and Genetic Correlation of Niamey’s Local Chicken Growth (Niger)

The exploitation of industrial strains of chickens in the Sahelian climate of Niger is characterized by a decline in performance and significant costs associated with their maintenance. In contrast, local chickens are well adapted to these environmental conditions but with poor production performance. Genetic selection of these local chickens could improve their productivity. The first step is to determine if the genetic parameters of their growth are high enough to ensure a successful selection strategy. To do so, weekly weights of 69 parents and 119 offspring were followed for 20 weeks. The heritability and genetic correlations of these weights were estimated through the Bayesian approach using the MCMCglmm package on R software. At hatching, weights ranged from 23 to 25 g. At 20 weeks, these weights ranged from 1031 to 1052 g for females and 1308 to 1445 g for males. Heritabilities for hatch weights at 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20 weeks of age were estimated to be 0.56, 0.31, 0.52, 0.53, 0.52 and 0.48 respectively and all genetic correlations were positive. In particular, weight at 8 weeks of age showed both good heritability (h2 = 0.52) and strong, positive genetic correlations with weights at older ages. These results indicate that genetic selection to improve weight at 8 weeks of age would be a good strategy to improve the overall growth performance of these chickens.

Genetic Parameters and Genome-Wide Association Studies for Body Size Traits of Shuxuan Cattle in China

In domestic cattle,the body size traits have important implications in terms of breed characteristics and production performance.Shuxuan cattle is a dual-purpose breed mainly raised in Sichuan province,China,for which we have known less about the genetic parameters and underlying candidate genes in relation to the body size traits.In this study,we obtained the genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs)using the Illumina Bovine BeadChip in 275 Shuxuan cattle.These SNPs were first used for estimating genetic parameters for the withers height(WH)and diagonal body length(BL).Using the bivariate animal model,the estimates(±standard error)of heritabilities were 0.71±0.22 and 0.49±0.29 for BL,and their genetic correlation was 0.64±0.37.Second,the genome-wide association study(GWAS)was performed.However,these did not result into genome-wide significant SNPs for both WH and BL traits.According to a less stringent suggestive significance,some positional candidate genes were found,and some of them(such as FAM110B,TAS1R2,PAX3,and FHIT)were previously reported in literature to be associated with body size traits in cattle.In conclusion,we estimated the genetic parameters in Shuxuan cattle using genomic information for the first time,which are required for implementing the genomic selection programs in the future.

Heritability and correlation analysis of morphological and yield traits in genetically modified cotton

Background:Cotton is known for fiber extraction and it is grown in tropical and sub-tropical areas of the world due to having hot weather.Cotton crop has a significant role in GDP of Pakistan.Therefore,the two-years research was conducted to estimate heritability and association among various yield contributing parameters of cotton,i.e.,plant height,number of bolls per plant,number of sympodial branches per plant,seed cotton yield,boll weight,seed index,ginning outturn(GOT),fiber length,fiber strength,and fiber fineness.Results:Association analysis revealed that seed cotton yield had a significant positive correlation with plant height,number of bolls per plant,number of sympodial branches per plant,GOT,staple length and fiber strength.Staple length and fiber strength were negatively linked with each other.Estimates of heritability were high for all of the traits except the number of sympodial branches per plant and boll weight.Conclusion:The parent IUB-222 was found to be the best for plant height,the number of bolls per plant,boll weight,GOT,seed cotton yield,and seed index.The genotypes namely,NIAB-414 and VH-367 were identified as the best parents for fiber length,strength,and fineness.Among the crosses NIAB-414×IUB-222 was the best for the number of bolls per plant,seed index,seed cotton yield and fiber fineness,whereas,the cross of NIAB-414×CIM-632 was good for plant height.The combination of A555×CIM-632 was the best for the number of sympodial branches per plant,boll weight,fiber length,and strength,and VH-367×CIM-632 proved the best for GOT.

Estimation of heritabilities of disease resistance to Edwardsiella tarda and genetic correlations between resistance and growth traits in Chinese tongue sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis)

Chinese tongue sole(Cynoglossus semilaevis)is an important marine flatfish which is widely cultured in coastal areas in China.Infectious bacterial diseases such as Edwardsiella tarda imposed serious threats to this species.A potential strategy to prevent this disease is to select resistance strains.The aim of the present work was to estimate the genetic variation of disease resistance to E.tarda and to evaluate the genetic correlations between resistance traits and growth traits.Three types of models were fitted by using different trait definitions(binary,continuous and categorical).After a 9-day challenge test,the overall survival was 75.4%(ranging from 6.4%to 100%in families),and at test day 6,the overall survival was 50.7%.We set test day 6 and 9 as cut-off point times respectively.The heritabilities of survival traits were ranging from 0.10 to 0.36.Considerably higher heritability values were obtained at day 6 than at day 9,regardless of which model or trait definition used(except Trait 2 in LIN).The genetic correlations between disease resistance traits and growth traits(i.e.body weight and total length)were low and not significant from zero(−0.12–0.24).There is a substantial re-ranking of families when defined resistance as categorical and continuous traits compared to binary trait.These results confirm the existence of genetic variation for resistance against E.tarda and weak genetic correlations indicate that joint genetic improvement of E.tarda resistance and growth is scarcely available.

Correlation Analysis of Genetic Distance and Heterosis of the Major Brassica napus L. Cultivars in Yunnan Province

[Objective] The correlation between genetic distance and heterosis of the major Brassica napus L. cultivars in Yunnan Province was analyzed. [Method] The genetic distances among the 8 major Brassica napus L. cultivars in Yunnan Province were investigated with the SSR molecular marker technique. Moreover, the correlation between genetic distance and field appearance of heterosis was ana-lyzed. [Result] There was a certain correlation between the genetic distance and heterosis of crossing parents （P〉0.05）. [Conclusion] It is difficult to predict the het-erosis of Brassica napus L. cultivars and to screen parents by using the SSR molecular marker technique.

Analysis of genetic effects and correlations for nutrient quality traits of indica rice in different environments

Understanding the variation for the expressionof genes in different environments is one of themajor goals in qualitative genetics. In this pa-per, the genetic models for quantitative traitsof endosperm in cereal crops were used to eval-uate the seed, cytoplasm and maternal geneticeffects as well as the genotype × environment(GE) interaction effects, and to predict thebreeding value of parents and genotypic corre-lation for nutrient quality traits of indica rice (Oryza sativa L.).

Estimates of genetic and phenotypic parameters for weight and length in Paralichthys olivaceus(Temminck et Schlegel)

The complete diallel cross design was employed to estimate the genetic parameters of the growth of Japanese flounder （Paralichthys olivaceus）. A total of 60 full-sib families were cultivated and two growth-related traits, body weight （BW） and body length （BL）, were examined at average 2, 3 and 8 months of age respectively, with 1 800 individuals measured in each age group （30 per family）. Based on the additive-dominance-maternal-effect genetic analysis model, the restricted maximum likelihood approach was used to estimate various （co）variance components. The results showed that narrow-sense heritability estimates of BW and BL were respectively： 0.29 ± 0.01 and 0.22 ± 0.02 at 2 months of age, 0.32 ± 0.02 and 0.30 ± 0.04 at 3 months of age, 0.48 ± 0.04 and 0.40 ± 0.05 at 8 months of age; broad-sense heritability estimates were respectively： 0.44 ± 0.02 and 0.54 ± 0.04 at 2 months of age, 0.35 ± 0.01 and 0.36 ± 0.03 at 3 months of age, 0.49 ± 0.03 and 0.45 ± 0.04. All heritabilities were statistically significant （P 0.05）. Additive genetic correlations between BW and BL at 2, 3 and 8 months of age were consistently positive and highly significant （P 0.01）： 0.93 ± 0.02, 0.95 ± 0.03 and 0.92 ± 0.03 respectively. Maternal effect was significant （P 0.05） only at 2 months of age, and was not detected at 3 and 8 months of age. According to the heritability estimates, the mass selection strategy should be efficient for the breeding of Japanese flounder.

Genetic parameter estimates for growth traits at early stage of Pacific abalone,Haliotis discus hannai Ino

Heritability and genetic and phenotypic correlations were estimated for juvenile growth traits of Pacific abalone Haliotis discus hannai Ino. The estimates were calculated from shell length and shell width measurements on progeny resulting from 12 half-sib families and 36 full-sib families obtained using artificial fertilization of mating three females to each male. The measurements were taken at 10, 20 and 30 d after fertilization. It was found that heritability estimates based on sire component ranged from 0.23 to 0.36 for shell length and 0.21 to 0.32 for shell width. Heritability estimates from dam component were larger than those from sire component at three ages, indicating presence of maternal effects, non-additive genetic effects and common environmental effects. Phenotypic correlations were significant at three ages （P 〈 0.05）, with values of 0.92, 0.93 and 0.92, respectively. Genetic correlations from the paternal half-sib correlation analysis were highly positive at three ages, with values of 0.50, 0.78 and 0.81, respectively. The results suggest that selective breeding is an effective approach to improving growth traits of Pacific abalone stocks.

Genetic parameters for cold tolerance and body weight of Chinese fleshy prawn,Fenneropenaeus chinensis

The inability of Fenneropenaeus chinensis to tolerate low temperatures is of major economic concern in temperate climates,as it reduces their growing season and leads to over-winter mortality.In this study,the heritability of body weight under low grow-out temperature and cold tolerance in F.chinensis were first investigated and estimated using 88 ful-sib families,which might provide crucial information in Chinese fleshy prawn breeding programs.The heritability for body weight under suitable and low temperature of F.chinensis were both moderate（0.158 0±0.307 5 and 0.132 0±0.026 9 respectively）;the large coefficient of variation（approximately 21%） and moderate estimate of heritability for body weight indicated substantial potential for selective breeding.The heritability estimate for cold tolerance was low（0.019 2±0.023 5）,and showed no significant differences from zero（P〉0.05）.A weak genetic correlation between cold tolerance and body weight was also estimated in the present study,also showing no significant differences from zero（P〉0.05）.Thus,more research needs to be conducted on the more accurate heritability estimate of cold tolerance and genetic correlations between traits in F.chinensis to further improve the achievement of breeding goals.

Geographic variation and genetic performance of Picea koraiensis in growth and wood characteristics

Eight provenances of 19-year-old Picea koraiensis Nakai from the provenancetrials of Maoershan (45°20′N, 127°30′E), Liang-shui (47°10′N, 128°53′E) and Jiagedaqi(50°24′N, 124°07′E) in Northeast China were investigated to analyze the genetic variation ingrowth characteristics (tree height and diameter) and wood characteristics (tracheid length,tracheid diameter, tracheid wall thickness, annual ring width as well as wood density). Greatvariation in height growth and breast height diameter growth was observed among the provenances, andalong with the increase of tree age, these provenances presented different geographic adaptability.The growth characteristics of Picea koraiensis stand at age of 10 in Maoershan and Liangshuiprovenance trials had a positive correlation with longitude, and with increase of tree age to 15 and19, the tree growth of the provenances displayed a significant positive correlation with latitudeas well as altitude. For wood characteristics, great variation was also found among the provenances.There exists a close relation between growth characteristics and wood properties of the provenance.The height and breast height diameter growth of the provenance had a positive correlation withtracheid diameter and annual ring width, and a negative correlation with tracheid wall thickness andwood density. Genetic performance of the provenance in all above characteristics was alsoinvestigated in order to provide more useful information for comprehensive selection of this speciesfor pulpwood and plywood production.

Estimation of genetic parameters for upper thermal tolerance and growth-related traits in turbot Scophthalmus maximus using the Bayesian method based on Gibbs sampling

In order to carry out the genetic improvement of turbot upper thermal tolerance, it is necessary to estimate the genetic parameters of UTT（upper thermal tolerance） and growth-related traits. The objective of this study was to estimate genetic parameters for BW（body weight） and UTT in a two-generational turbot（Scophthalmus maximus L.） pedigree derived from four imported turbot stocks（England, France, Denmark and Norway）. A total of 42 families including 20 families from G1 generation and 22 families from G2 generation were used to test upper thermal tolerance（40–50 animals per family） in this study and the body weight of individuals were measured. The heritability of BW and UTT and the correlation between these two traits were estimated based on an individual animal model using Bayesian method based on two types of animal models with and without maternal effects.These results showed that the heritabilities for BW and UTT and phenotypic and genetic correlations between the two traits estimated from model without maternal effects were 0.239±0.141, 0.111±0.080, 0.075±0.026 and–0.019±0.011, respectively. The corresponding values from model with maternal effects were 0.203±0.115,0.055±0.026, 0.047±0.034 and –0.024±0.028, respectively. The maternal effects of BW and UTT were 0.050±0.017 and 0.013±0.004, respectively. The maternal effects had a certain influence on the genetic evaluation of the two traits. The findings of this paper provided the necessary background to determine the best selection strategy to be adopted in the genetic improvement program.

Analysis of phenotypic and genetic parameters for growth-related traits in the half smooth tongue sole,Cynoglossus semilaevis

Phenotypic and genetic parameters for growth-related traits in the half-smooth tongue sole, Cynoglossus semilaevis, were estimated in 22 full-sib families produced by normal and neo-male breeding stocks. As phenotypic males with female genotypes, neo-males are harmful in C. semilaevis aquaculture because they reduce overall production. The present study evaluated the difference in the growth-related traits： total length （TL）, body weight （BW） and square root of body weight （SQ_BW） at the age of 570 days between normal and neo-male offspring （neo-males used as male parents）. The difference in the proportion of females between normal and neo-male offspring was also assessed. Based on the linear mixed model, restricted maximum likelihood （REML） and best linear unbiased prediction （BLUP） were used to estimate various （co）variance components and estimated breeding values （EBVs） of growth-related traits. As a result, all the mean values of the three studied traits were significantly larger in normal offspring than in neo-male offspring. Additionally, the female proportion was significantly larger in normal offspring than in neo-male offspring. Heritability was 0.128＋0.066 2 for TL, 0.128-4-0.065 5 for BW and 0.132~0.062 9 for SQBW, all of which were low level heritabilities. The correlation coefficients of EBVs and phenotypic values of the target traits were 0.516 for TL, 0.524 for BW and 0.506 for SQ_BW, all of which were highly significant （P〈0.01）. Genetic correlations among TL, BW and SQ_BW were positive high （0.921-0.969） and higher than those of phenotype （0.711-0.748）, both of which had low standard errors （0.063-0.123 for genotype, and 0.010-0.018 for phenotype）. Compared with normal offspring, neo-male offspring have lower breeding values for each studied trait through EBVs comparison. Therefore, neo-male offspring should not be used as broodstock in a C. semilaevis breeding programs.

Heritability of resistance-related gene expression traits and their correlation with body size of clam Meretrix petechialis

Gene expression variation can be considered as a phenotype,and it plays an important role in both acclimation and adaption.However,genetic variation of gene expression received much less attention than traditional commercial traits in aquaculture.To estimate the genetic variation and heritability of gene transcription in clam Meretrix petechialis,five Vibrio resistance-related genes were selected for gene expression analysis in the digestive gland,and an animal linear model was used to analyze data from quantitative real-time PCR(qRT-PCR).Among the five genes,BIRC7 showed significant additive genetic variations,the heritability of this gene of 12-month-and 15-month-old clams were 0.84±0.32 and 0.91±0.34,respectively.The heritability of other four genes(Bax,NFIL3,Big-Def,and CTL9)expression were low-tomoderate but not significantly expressed.Additionally,no significant phenotypic and genetic correlations between the BIRC7 transcription trait and body size were detected.This study highlights that certain gene expression variation is heritable and provides a reference for indirect selection of M.petechialis with high Vibrio resistance.

Dynamic genetic analysis for body weight and main length ratio in turbot Scophthalmus maximus

The objective of this study was to estimate genetic parameters of body width(BW)to body length(BL)ratio(BW/BL)and of body weight traits(BWT)in turbot,and to elucidate the genetic mechanism of the two traits during ontogeny by dynamic genetic analysis.From 3 to 27 months,BW,BL and BWT of each communally stocked fish were measured every 3 months.The BW/BL ratio was measured at different sampling ages.A twotrait animal model was used for genetic evaluation of traits.The results showed that the heritability values of BW/BL ratio ranged from 0.2168 to 0.3148,corresponding to moderate heritability.The BWT heritability values ranged from 0.2702 to 0.3479 corresponding to moderate heritability.The heritability of BW/BL ratio was lower than that of BWT,except at 3 months of age.Genetic correlation between BW/BL ratio and BWT decreased throughout the measurement period.Genetic correlations were higher than the phenotypic correlations.The current results for estimating genetic parameters demonstrate that the BW/BL ratio could be used as a phenotypic marker of fast-growing turbot,and the BW/BL ratio and BWT could be improved simultaneously through selective breeding.

Genetic parameters estimation for growth traits in cultured tiger pufferfish(fugu),Takifugu rubripes

The aim of this study was to evaluate the genetic parameters of the growth performance of Takifugu rubripes.Heritabilities and genetic correlations were estimated for body weight(BW),body length(BL),total length(TL),chest measurement(CM)and trunk length(TKL)of T.rubripes from measurements of progeny at 6 months and 12 months.The results showed that the heritability was 0.37 for BW6,0.19 for BL6,0.35 for TL6,0.29 for CM6,0.26 for TKL6,0.36 for BW12,0.26 for BL12,0.25 for TL12,0.31 for CM12 and 0.15 for TKL12.The range of genetic correlations estimated at 6 months was 0.025–0.725 and−0.002–0.706 at 12 months.The results indicated that genetic improvement for faster growth rate or increased body weight in cultured T.rubripes was effective.Based on selection theory,the selection strategy for traits with medium heritability is flexible.Considering that these growth traits do not reach the high level of heritability,family selection should be expected.Given positive genetic correlations among BW,BL,TL,CM,and TKL at 6 months,the five traits could be improved simultaneously through selective breeding.As there was high genetic correlation only between BW12,BL12 and TL12,and negative correlations between TKL12 and BL12 as well as between CM12 and TL12,and only BW,BL and TL at 12 months could be improved simultaneously.

Genetic Analysis on Plant Type of Northern Japonica Hybrid Rice

This study was designed to analyze the genetic relationship of the morphological traits of the northern japonica hybrid rice. The genetic relationship of the morphological traits of the 100 cultivars combined by the 10 sterile lines and the 10 restore lines was studied by using the principle component analysis and the SAS and QGA. The results showed that compared with the female parent, most of the morphological traits related closely to their father. The additive genetic effect and the dominant genetic effect appeared significantly, and the former was more significant than the latter. Genetic correlation analysis indicated that high plants or high plants with more leaves were in favor of improving the number and the weight of the spike and producing the hybrid vigor. The important factors influencing the plant type of the northern japonica hybrid rice were the plant height （PH）, the angle of the flag leaf （FLA）, flag leaf length （FLL）, and the weight of the shoots and leaves （SLW）, respectively. The morphological traits system of the northern japonica hybrid rice was very complex, and the restore line should be given more importance compared with the sterile line, and PH, FLA, FLL, and SLW should be considered first in the plant type breeding.