Tracing cat domestication through population genetics and capturing genotype-by environment interactions in US beef cattle genomic predictions
Abstract
Cat domestication initiated as a symbiotic relationship between wildcats and the peoples of developing agrarian societies in the Fertile Crescent. To refine the sites of cat domestication, over 1,000 random-bred cats of primarily Eurasian descent were genotyped. The overall cat population structure suggested a single worldwide population with significant isolation by distance of peripheral subpopulations with decreased heterozygosity as genetic distance from the proposed cat progenitor's (F.s. lybica) natural habitat increased. Domestic cat origins are focused in the eastern Mediterranean Basin, spreading to nearby islands, down the Levantine coast and into the Nile Valley. Climate change is driving the need for incorporating genotype-by-environment interactions in beef cattle genomic prediction models as animals frequently re-rank across environments. For United States Gelbvieh and Red Angus beef cattle, genotype-by-environmental inclusive models were compared to the current national genomic evaluation. Genotype-by-environment effects contributed [approx] 3 percent-11 percent of the phenotypic variation to growth traits. Maternal and direct genotype-by-environment effects varied across growth traits. With slightly higher accuracies, the current national genomic evaluation models tend to outperform the genotype-by-environment models.
Degree
Ph. D.