[en] The Kempen cattle breed is a local dual purpose cattle breed from the north-eastern part of Belgium. Since the 1950s, emphasis was put on milk production and Kempen cattle were crossed with Dutch MRY and Red Holstein bulls. In 1972, the herd book was renamed red-pied breed of Belgium. In 2012, due to the insistence of farmers, a herd book was re-established. However many animals are still unregistered and pedigree information is absent. Therefore the genetic diversity and population structure of the breed and the amount of genomic information shared with related breeds was evaluated. For the Kempen breed 340 samples were genotyped with Illumina 54k SNP and for 9 others breeds, 421 samples were available. PCA analysis was used to evaluate the population structure within the Kempen breed. Due to the absence of a breeding goal, there is substantial variation between the farmers. However the breeding bulls included in the analysis are positioned central in the population, ensuring a more uniform population in the next generation. Unregistered Kempen animals were identified and the effective population size was estimated to be 67. Further inbreeding values based on runs of homozygosity and F-statistics have been analysed. PCA analyses revealed that the breeds Eastern Belgium Red Pied, Improved Red Pied and Brandrood are genetically similar to the Kempen population. Furthermore the admixture events between the Kempen breed and related breeds were evaluated. These genomic analyses may help to preserve genetic diversity in the Kempen breed and ensure its uniqueness.
Disciplines :
Animal production & animal husbandry
Author, co-author :
François, Liesbeth; Katholieke Universiteit Leuven - KUL > Department of Biosystems, Livestock Genetics
Janssens, Steven; Katholieke Universiteit Leuven - KUL > Department of Biosystems, Livestock Genetics
Colinet, Frédéric ; Université de Liège > Agronomie, Bio-ingénierie et Chimie (AgroBioChem) > Zootechnie
Gengler, Nicolas ; Université de Liège > Agronomie, Bio-ingénierie et Chimie (AgroBioChem) > Zootechnie
Hulsegge, I.; Wageningen University and Research Centre > Animal Breeding and Genomics Centre | Centre for Genetic Resource
Windig, Jack; Wageningen University and Research Centre > Animal Breeding and Genomics Centre | Centre for Genetic Resource
Buys, Nadine; Katholieke Universiteit Leuven - KUL > Department of Biosystems, Livestock Genetics
Language :
English
Title :
Genetic analysis to support the re-establishment of the Kempen breed
Publication date :
August 2015
Event name :
66th Annual Meeting of the European Federation of Animal Science
Event organizer :
EAAP - European Federation of Animal Science
Event place :
Warsaw, Poland
Event date :
31 August - 4 September 2015
Audience :
International
Main work title :
Book of Abstracts of the 66th Annual Meeting of the European Federation of Animal Science