Genomic focus delivers results at Centre Plus
- By: "Farm Tender" News
- Ag Tech News
- Mar 05, 2018
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Adoption of DNA technologies in combination with Pedigree Matchmaker and Matesel, has added more precision to joining selection decisions and increased the rate of genetic gain by a whopping 50% over the last five years at leading Merino stud, Centre Plus.
Working closely with the Cooperative Research Centre for Sheep Industry Innovation (Sheep CRC), in 2012 Centre Plus began DNA testing 20% of its top ranked ram lambs to more accurately select ram lambs to add to their sire team.
Sheep CRC analysis of data comparing the 10-year period pre-genomics to the last five years of using DNA testing, has revealed the full impact of this decision to embrace the technology early - Centre Plus has increased rates of genetic gain for the Australian Sheep Breeding Value (ASBV) selection indexes Merino Production Plus (MP+) and Dual Purpose Plus (DP+) by 47% and 53%, respectively.
Sheep CRC geneticist Dr Tom Granleese said specific trait increases included 25% improvement in yearling clean fleece weight and almost doubling in the rate of improvement in adult clean fleece weight, all while maintaining their fibre diameter average ASBV at -1.9.
“Rate of improvement in number of lambs weaned has also increased by 95% largely as a result of Centre Plus’s dedication to measuring pedigree using Pedigree Matchmaker,” Dr Granleese said.
“Rates of genetic gain have slowed for some traits, such as staple length (YSL) and staple strength (YSS), as a result of higher weighting on traits that are more economically important in the Centre Plus breeding objective.”
Centre Plus is a co-operative Merino stud based at Tullamore, NSW. It currently has a nucleus flock of 1100 ewes, a multiplier nucleus of 400 and 12 commercial members with a total of 20,000 ewes, who contribute to the multiplier nucleus with their elite commercial ewes.
Centre Plus has earned its position as one of Australia’s leading Merino studs through its early adoption of new technologies and the application of Australian Sheep Breeding Values (ASBVs) to enhance selection decisions and benchmark progress.
Led by Robert Mortimer, the Centre Plus program records pedigree, reproductive data, lifetime performance for body and wool traits, and uses DNA testing. Centre Plus has also extensively used the mating program Matesel since 1999 to maximise the potential rates of genetic gain while minimising rates of inbreeding.
When Centre Plus began DNA testing in 2012 the stud only tested ram lambs they thought would be capable of mating at seven months of age.
After receiving DNA-enhanced ASBVs for their ram lambs, they would then select the top five ranked rams to add into the sire team each year, which consists of 25 rams in total.
Dr Granleese said Centre Plus’s extensive testing and measurement of the DNA-tested rams, combined with trait measurement of progeny, meant their genetic selection decisions were very precise.
“The significant increases in the rates of genetic gain they have achieved using DNA testing equates to increasing the average annual genetic gain from $1.33 per sheep per year pre-genomic testing, to $1.96 per sheep per year post-genomic testing,” Dr Granleese said.
“Increasing the selection accuracy of younger rams and hence reducing the generation interval, has been a key factor in achieving faster rates of genetic gain. The average age of the ram team is now two years whereas before genomic testing the average age was two and a half years.”
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