Improvement techniques in

sheep and goat

Presented by:
Nabin Neupane
M.Sc.An.Sc
AFU, Rampur
Chitwan
 HERITABILITY
• Heritability is the degree by the character/traits are transferred to
offspring from parent.
• It denotes the genotypic variance to the phenotypic variance.
• Heritability denotes the proportion of phenotypic variance that is due to
genotype i.e., heritable and expressed in percentage.
• The transfer of traits is dependent upon genetic as well as environmental
factor.
 VARIATION
• Vp or phenotypic variation: Caused by genetic difference between
individual (Vg), environmental differences (Ve) and interaction of
genotype and environment (Vge). Vp=Vg+Ve+Vge,
• Genotypic variation: variation that occur in individual at gene
level is genotypic variation.
• Vg= Va+Vd+Vi,
HERITABILITY IN NARROW SENSE
• Heritability is narrow sense:
• The narrow-sense heritability is the ratio of additive genetic
variance (Va) to the total phenotypic variance (Vp).
• Additive genes are those genes that code for the same trait and
their effects work together on the phenotype.
HERITABILITY IN BROAD SENSE
• The heritability in broad sense is the ration of total genetic
variation to the total phenotypic variance.
• Total genetic variation means additive, dominant, epistatic.
• Example: AA=4, Aa=2 and aa=0.
 Estimation of heritability
- Only phenotypic variation can be observed or
measured directly, for e.g. quantity of milk
produced, weight of carcass, etc.
- To obtain heritability precisely, individual related to
each other are observed varying at environment or
genetic level. Therefore, rather than more distantly
related individual, more closely related one are
taken into study like twins, siblings, parents and
offspring.
Heritability is measured by following ways:
 From similarity between relatives
 From actual response to selection (realized heritability)
 From comparison using twin/isogenic lines.

Estimation through relatives is the most common methods. These relatives

resemble each other due to their common ancestry. They have common genes.
Relatives can be:
twin or identical
Offspring-parent
Half sibs i.e one parent common
Full sibs i.e both parent common
Measure of heritability
The heritability estimation is obtained through, there two methods:
a. Based on analysis of correlations and by extension, regression.
b. Based on analysis of variance.

Nowadays, it can be performed using linear mixed models and from

genomic relatedness estimated from genetic markers.
Twin analysis
- Estimated by comparing resemblances between twins.
- In this process, two identical twins are separated, in which each of them is reared in
different environmental condition.
Twin studies:
a. Monozygotic
- Share 100% of their alleles
b. Dizygotic
- Share 50% of their alleles
- Dizygotic twin share half of their genes on average while monozygotic twin are
twice as genetically similar as DZ twin,
- The correlation coefficient between phenotypic variation of twin is the broad sense
as the twin share the same environment during its embryonic life.
Contd..
Twin studies are studies conducted on identical or fraternal twins. They aim to
reveal the importance of environmental and genetic influences for traits,
phenotypes, and disorders.

Twin study has been used as the basis of estimating heritability in anima.
Identical twins have almost no differences in their DNA, while fraternal twins
share, on average, 50 percent of their DNA. By comparing a trait in identical twins
versus fraternal twins, researchers can calculate an estimate of its heritability.
Classical twin method ( ACE MODEL)
The correlation of same sex MZ twins is always higher than the DZ twin correlation with
various sexes and thus all gender differences are evaluated as heritable. To avoid this error,
only genetic studies comparing MZ twins with the same sex DZ twins are valid.

Typically these three components are called A (additive genetics) C (common

environment) and E (unique environment); hence the acronym ACE

The correlation between identical twins provides an estimate of A + C. Dizygotic (DZ)

twins also share C, but share on average 50% of their genes: so the correlation between
fraternal twins is a direct estimate of ½A+C. If r is correlation, then rmz and rdz are simply
the correlations of the trait in identical and fraternal twins respectively. For any particular
trait, then:

rmz = A + C
rdz = ½A + C
A, therefore, is twice the difference between identical and fraternal twin correlations: the additive genetic
effect (Falconer's formula). C is simply the MZ correlation minus this estimate of A. The random (unique)
factor E is 1 − rmz: i.e., MZ twins differ due to unique environments only. (Jinks & Fulker, 1970; Plomin,
DeFries, McClearn, & McGuffin, 2001).

Stated again, the difference between these two sums, then, allows us to solve for A, C, and E. As the
difference between the identical and fraternal correlations is due entirely to a halving of the genetic
similarity, the additive genetic effect 'A' is simply twice the difference between the identical and fraternal
correlations:

A = 2 (rmz − rdz)
As the identical correlation reflects the full effect of A and C, E can be estimated by subtracting this
correlation from 1

E = 1 − rmz
Finally, C can be derived:

C = rmz − A
ADE MODEL

An ADE model is a genetic model for twin studies which includes dominance
genetic effects.

It is also possible to examine non-additive genetics effects (often denoted D for

dominance (ADE model); see below for more complex twin designs).
Contd..
the effect of shared environment, c2, contributes to similarity
between siblings due to the commonality of the environment they
are raised in. Shared environment is approximated by the DZ
correlation minus half heritability, which is the degree to which
DZ twins share the same genes, c2=DZ-1/2h2. Unique
environmental variance, e2, reflects the degree to which identical
twins raised together are dissimilar, e2=1-r(MZ).
Falconer's formula
Falconer's formula is a mathematical formula that is used in twin
studies to estimate the relative contribution of genetics vs.
environment to variation in a particular trait (that is, the heritability of
the trait) based on the difference between twin correlations
The formula is

Where, Hb2 is the broad sense heritability, rmz is the monozygotic

identical twin correlation, rdz is the dizygotic twin, fraternal twin
correlation, it assumes there is equal contribution of envrironmental
factors in Mz and DZ pairs. And the additional phenotypic correlation
between two pairs from MZ pairs is due to genetic factors.
Analysis of variance methods of estimation
- It involves ANOVA.

a. Basic model
- Here quantitative contribution of a single locus with genotype Gi as:

Where gi is the effect of genotype Gi and e is the environmental effect.

b. The ANOVA
Here, n sires and r progeny per sire are used in experiment, ANOVA
Limitation:
 Frequency of twinning in most livestock is very low.
 It provides an estimate broad-sense heritability.
 The result from twin study is the study of heritability is ideal
condition and at times, it might be difficult to apply to practical
conditions.