New opportunities for reproductive technologies in developing countries

1
New opportunities for reproductive technologies
in developing countries

• Johan van Arendonk
• Animal Breeding and Genomics Centre
• Wageningen University

2
Livestock food and income

• Increase in human population
• Demand in developing countries for animal foods
  projected to double in coming 20 years
• Livestock offers many of the worlds poor a
  pathway out of poverty

3
Wide range of production environments
Robustness in the field
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Challenges for livestock production

• Improving efficiency of production
• Life time productivity
• Feed utilization
• Reproduction and disease resistance
• Robustness of animals
• Ability to perform well in wide range of
  environments
• Ability of animals to handle harsh environments
• Securing the assets of the poor
• Maintaining genetic diversity
• Limit degree of inbreeding within breeds
• Conservation of genetic diversity between breeds

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Breeding utilizing genetic variation
Creating

• Creating genetic change
• Selecting the best animals
• Using the best animals to produce next generation
  
• Aim produce animals that perform better
• Ensuring that farmers benefit from genetic change
• Meeting the needs of the farmers
• Disseminating good genetics from breeder to user

Disseminating
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Steps involved in animal breeding

• Analysis of production system what kind of
  animal is desired
• Breeding system use of crossbreeding?
• Creating genetic change in each breed
• Definition of breeding goal (direction of change)
• Evaluation of selection candidates (estimating
  the breeding value)
• Select best animals as parents for next
  generation
• Disseminating improved genetics
• Use superior animals to produce (crossbred)
  animals used by farmers

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Reproductive biotechnologies

• Reproductive biotechnologies play an important
  role in genetic management of populations
• Cryo conservation of genetic diversity (gene
  bank)
• Creating and disseminating genetic improvement
• I will concentrate on conservation through
  utilization
• This presentation
• Role of reproductive biotechnologies
• Emphasis on developing countries
• Focus on dairy cattle

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Genetic improvement scheme for a breed

• Exploiting the within-breed genetic variation to
• Improve the genetic level of the next generation
• Maintain genetic diversity
• Parameters to evaluate scheme
• ?G rate of genetic change
• ?F rate of inbreeding

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Rate of genetic improvement

• Accuracy
• Intensity of selection
• Genetic variance

• Generation interval

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Optimizing breeding scheme

• Tools are available to predict ?G and ?F
• Optimization find the optimum combination of
  selection intensity, accuracy and generation
  interval
• Important to identify constraints breeding
  scheme needs to be tailor made

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Optimization in summary

• Short term unfavorable relation between ?G and
  ?F.
• Objective needs to be maximizing ?G while
  restricting ?F
• Acceptable level of ?F 0.5 to 1 per generation
• Tools available to predict ?G ?F

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Artificial insemination (AI)

• Creates opportunity for progeny testing
• High accuracy of EBV of a bull based on 100-250
  offspring

h210
h225
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AI applied to cattle

• Progeny testing is determines most of genetic
  improvement of in developed world
• AI and pedigree recording enable progeny testing
  of bulls ? Accurate estimates of genetic value
  (EBV).
• Progeny testing of 100 young bulls requires
  pedigree and performance recording on 10,000 to
  25,000 offspring during multiple lactations
  (total between 30,000 and 100,000 cows on annual
  basis).
• AI enables large-scale use of bulls with highest
  EBV
• Important role in dissemination of improved
  genetics

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AI in developing countries

• Progeny testing difficult to implement
• Requires good pedigree and performance recording
  which is often lacking
• Requires commitment from a large group of farmers
  (30,000 to 100,000 cows)
• Needed alternative to create genetic chain
• AI can be used to disseminate improved genetics
  to the farmers

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Alternative importation of exotic material?

• Importation of exotic breeds often failed due to
  lack of adaptive capacity of the exotic breeds.
• Indigenous breeds are often referred to as
  inferior overlooks the fact that they are able
  to adapt

Importation is not a good alternative for most
cases Need to improve the local breeds
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Female reproductive technologies

• Reproductive technologies increase the number of
  offspring of a cow
• Reduction in number of cows needed as parents ?
  selection intensity
• Performance recording on clones, full and half
  sibs ? accuracy of selection
• On a small fraction of population needed to
  generate genetic progress

Opportunity for nucleus breeding scheme to
generate genetic progress
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Effect of changing number of offspring/dam

• Selection for milk production (no progeny
  testing)
• Number of sires 32
• Total number of female offspring 128
• Number of offspring per dam 2, 4 or 8

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Maximising ?G while restricting ?F

• Increases importance info on selection candidate
• Moves optimum back to progeny testing
• Better to have smaller number of dams than sires
• Factorial mating designs
• opportunity for additional gain

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Embryo cloning

• Cloning production of multiple copies of a
  single individual

• Increased accuracy of selection
• repeated observations
• measure the same animal under different
  environments
• Expose animal to harsh environment

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Embryo cloning and creating genetic change

• Basis of comparison
• Measure performance on a fixed number of animals
  testing 2 copies ? testing 50 less genotypes
• Variable double number of tested animal when
  testing 2 copies
• Effect of using clones
• Fixed marginal effect on ?G
• Variable increase of ?G (reduction of ?F?)

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Semen sexing

• No added value for creating genetic improvement
• Added value for dissemination
• Reduction of 50 in cows to breed replacement
  heifers
• More efficient crossbreeding system (F1)
• Reduces number of pure-bred cows that needs to be
  kept by 50

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From genetic gain to impact
Creating genetic gain
Nucleus
Dissemination plays crucial role
Were impact is needed
Village production/farmers
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Improvement in genetic level over time

• Rate of improvement determined by nucleus
• Genetic lag depends on speed of dissemination

Nucleus
Village production
Genetic level
Genetic lag
Years
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Use of AI in purebreeding case
Dissemination by
Nucleus
Village production/farmers
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Limited use of AI in dissemination 3-tier system
Dissemination by
Nucleus
Multiplier farms
Idea implemented by ITC in NDama cattle,
Djallonke sheep and West African Dwarf goats
Village production/farmers
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F1 crossbreeding situation
Dissemination Semen/bulls cows
Nucleus breed 1
Nucleus breed 2
Multiplier farms producing F1 cows
Village production using F1 cows
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Use of AI revisited

• Genome sequencing initiatives large number of
  SNPs available for cattle
• 60,000 SNPs for US 150 per cow (coming down)
• Genomic selection EBV of young bulls estimated
  based on SNP information on bull and cows in
  population (with phenotypes)
• Do we still need pedigrees?

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Estimating bulls EBV without pedigree recording

• Screen the population
• Select number of herds with information on
  performance on cows
• Take a DNA sample on these cows
• Young bulls in your nucleus
• Take a DNA sample
• Estimate EBV based on DNA profile
• Select the best bulls for nucleus and
  dissemination

Link performance to EBV through DNA
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Progeny testing without pedigree recording

• Genomic selection seems promising
• No need for pedigree registration
• Use performance measured on animals in the field
  (no need to be purebred)
• Generation interval not an issue.
• Can start selection in young bulls immediately
• No continuous program needed

Promising opportunity Deserves more
research Infrastructure for performance recording
needed
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In conclusion creating genetic improvement

• Involves only small fraction of population
• Progeny testing powerful but pedigree recording
  is lacking
• Female reproduction techniques increases genetic
  gain 10 to 30
• Limited impact of cloning or sexing semen on
  genetic gain
• DNA information promising opportunities for
  progeny testing without pedigree registration

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In conclusion dissemination

• Animal breeding for poverty alleviation
  dissemination is crucial
• Many breeding programmes have failed
• Research is needed to improve dissemination
• Understanding the current system of breeding
• Shown a few examples on how effective
  dissemination can be implemented

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Reproductive technologies in developing countries
There is a big need to improve the local genetic
resources
Tailor made solutions are needed
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AcknowledgementsWageningen University
especially Piter Bijma and Henk BovenhuisPhD
students (jointly with ILRI) Delphin Koudande,
Isaac Kosgey, NGuetta Bosso, Solomon
GebremichaelILRI staff in Animal Genetics