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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Animal Genomics and Improvement Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #399589
Research Project: Improving Dairy Cow Feed Efficiency and Environmental Sustainability Using Genomics and Novel Technologies to Identify Physiological Contributions and Adaptations

Location: Animal Genomics and Improvement Laboratory

Title: The Resilient Dairy Genome Project - A general overview of methods and objectives related to feed efficiency and methane emissions

Author
item VAN STAAVEREN, NIENKE - University Of Guelph
item DE OLIVEIRA, HINAYAH - Collaborator
item HOULAHAN, KERRY - University Of Guelph
item CHUD, TATIANE - University Of Guelph
item OLIVEIRA, JR, GERSON - University Of Guelph
item HAILEMARIAM, DAGNACHEW - University Of Alberta
item KISTEMAKER, GERRIT - Collaborator
item MIGLIOR, FILIPPO - University Of Guelph
item PLASTOW, GRAHAM - University Of Alberta
item SCHENKEL, FLAVIO - University Of Guelph
item CERRI, RONALDO - University Of British Columbia
item SIRARD, MARC-ANDRE - Laval University
item STOTHARD, PAUL - University Of Alberta
item PRYCE, JENNIE - La Trobe University
item BUTTY, ADRIEN - Collaborator
item STRATZ, PATRICK - Collaborator
item ABDALLA, EMHIMAD - Collaborator
item SEGELKE, DIERCK - Christian Albrechts University
item STAMER, ECKHARD - Collaborator
item THALLER, GEORG - Christian Albrechts University
item LASSEN, JAN - Collaborator
item MANZANILLA-PECH, CORALIA - Aarhus University
item STEPHANSEN, RASMUS - Aarhus University
item CHARFEDDINE, NOUREDDINE - Collaborator
item GARCIA-RODRIGUEZ, ASER - Collaborator
item GONZALEZ-RECIO, OSCAR - Instituto Nacional De Investigacion Y Tecnologia Agraria Y Alimentaria
item LOPEZ-PAREDES, JAVIER - Collaborator
item Baldwin, Ransom - Randy
item BURCHARD, JAVIER - Council On Dairy Cattle Breeding
item PARKER GADDIS, KRISTEN - Council On Dairy Cattle Breeding
item KOLTES, JAMES - Iowa State University
item PENAGARICANO, FRANCISCO - University Of Wisconsin
item SANTOS, JOSE - University Of Florida
item TEMPELMAN, ROBERT - Michigan State University
item VANDEHAAR, MICHAEL - Michigan State University
item WEIGEL, KENT - University Of Wisconsin
item WHITE, HEATHER - University Of Wisconsin
item BAES, CHRISTINE - University Of Guelph

Submitted to: Journal of Dairy Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/3/2023
Publication Date: 3/1/2024
Citation: Van Staaveren, N., De Oliveira, H.R., Houlahan, K., Chud, T.C., Oliveira, Jr, G.A., Hailemariam, D., Kistemaker, G., Miglior, F., Plastow, G., Schenkel, F.S., Cerri, R., Sirard, M., Stothard, P., Pryce, J., Butty, A., Stratz, P., Abdalla, E.A., Segelke, D., Stamer, E., Thaller, G., Lassen, J., Manzanilla-Pech, C., Stephansen, R.B., Charfeddine, N., Garcia-Rodriguez, A., Gonzalez-Recio, O., Lopez-Paredes, J., Baldwin, R.L., Burchard, J., Parker Gaddis, K.L., Koltes, J.E., Penagaricano, F., Santos, J.E., Tempelman, R.J., Vandehaar, M.J., Weigel, K.A., White, H.M., Baes, C. 2024. The Resilient Dairy Genome Project - A general overview of methods and objectives related to feed efficiency and methane emissions . Journal of Dairy Science. 107(3):1510–1522. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2022-22951.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2022-22951

Interpretive Summary: Improved feed efficiency and reduced greenhouse gas emissions in dairy are high priorities to improve the sustainability of the dairy sector. Traits such as dry matter intake or methane emissions are difficult and expensive to collect. The Resilient Dairy Genome Project is an international collaboration between seven countries with a similar goal to breed more resilient dairy cows; through sharing of genotypes and phenotypes a large database has been generated that is needed for genetic evaluations and research. We provide an overview of how data is collected across the different countries and highlight the importance of standardizing traits before inclusion in genetic evaluations.

Technical Abstract: The Resilient Dairy Genome Project (RDGP) is an international large-scale applied research project that aims to generate genomic tools to breed more resilient dairy cows. In this context, improving feed efficiency and reducing greenhouse gasses from dairy is a high priority. The inclusion of traits related to feed efficiency (e.g., dry matter intake [DMI]) or greenhouse gasses (e.g., methane emissions [CH4]) relies on available genotypes as well as high quality phenotypes. Currently, seven countries, i.e., Australia [AUS], Canada [CAN], Denmark [DNK], Germany [DEU], Spain [ESP], Switzerland [CHE], and United States of America [USA] contribute with genotypes and phenotypes including DMI and CH4. However, combining data is challenging due to differences in recording protocols, measurement technology, genotyping, and animal management across sources. In this study, we provide an overview of how the RDGP partners address these issues to advance international collaboration to generate genomic tools for resilient dairy. Specifically, we describe the current state of the RDGP database, data collection protocols in each country, and test the homogeneity of traits (i.e., DMI and CH4) to verify if the traits need to be normalized before genomic evaluation. As of February 2022, the database contains 1,289,593 DMI records from 12,687 cows and 17,403 CH4 records from 3,093 cows and continues to grow as countries upload new data over the coming years. Measurements of DMI and CH4 differed between the countries showing that standardization of the traits is required before inclusion of different data sources in genomic evaluations.