Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
4th International Eurasian Conference on Science, Engineering and Technology (EurasianSciEnTech 2022), Ankara, Türkiye, 14 - 16 Aralık 2022, cilt.4, ss.104
Until the late 20th century, breeding in farm animals was performed by traditional selection methods using phenotypic data.
In this context, a certain level of genetic progress has been achieved, especially with the more efficient evaluation of pedigree
records and the development of more comprehensive statistical methods. Nevertheless, the development of molecular genetic
methods and their increasing use in livestock breeding have increased the accuracy of selection programs, resulting in a high
level of genetic progress. The primary objective in beef cattle breeding is to obtain a high beef yield. However, beef quality
has become increasingly important in recent years. This shows once again the need to focus on the question of high beef
quantity or higher beef quality. Because the molecular genetic basis for answering this question seems to be quite complex.
This complexity clearly demonstrates that selection programs can create flexibility in terms of yield vs quality and allow the
application of purposeful selection models and that intensive selection on meat quality can lead to precise regressions in
fattening performance, or vice versa. Moreover, most of the carcass characteristics are detectable after slaughter. Therefore,
the data to be obtained as a result of an effective genetic evaluation is indispensable. In recent years, many genes related to
growth rate, carcass weight, lean meat, marbling, and texture have been specifically identified. However, as with many other
economically important quantitative traits, carcass and meat quality traits are controlled by numerous genes with minor
effects. Therefore, marker-assisted selection (MAS) was able to achieve a limited level of progress. Data from genome-wide
association studies (GWAS) and newly-developed SNP chip technologies are seen as a very effective option to select animals
with superior characteristics. In this study, current developments in GWAS, challenges, and possible solutions for genomic
selection in beef cattle will be discussed.