Heritability and genetic correlations between weight gains in Murrah, Mediterranean, and Jaffarabadi buffaloes raised in Brazil, employing Bayesian inference

Abstract

The request for products of buffalo origin (beef and milk) has been growing throughout the years, and to meet this demand it is necessary to obtain animals with high levels of performance guaranteed through generations. Thus, it is of paramount importance to know the heritability of the desired traits in order to genetically improve the populations. The objective was to estimate the genetic parameters for weight gain from birth to weaning (BWGW) and from weaning to 12 months of age (WGW12) of Murrah (4675), Mediterranean (405), and Jaffarabadi (766) buffaloes raised in Brazil. Bayesian inference with the bi-trait model was used. The direct heritability in the Mediterranean and the Jaffarabadi breeds presented low to moderate estimates whereas the Murrah breed was medium for the two traits considered. Heritability estimates for maternal effect were low for BWGW and decreased with advancing age but remained present until 12 months of age. The genetic correlations found between all traits indicate that selection for increased weight gain at younger ages leads to increased weight gain at 12 months and it is thus possible to select at this age since the weight gains are highly correlated in all breeds.