Assessing the impact of genomic selection against hip dysplasia in the Labrador Retriever dog

Abstract

Many purebred dogs exhibit a higher prevalence of inherited diseases compared with non-purebred dogs. One of the most popular breeds in the UK is the Labrador Retriever, which has a high prevalence of hip dysplasia resulting in high costs for surgical operations and impaired animal welfare. Considering the many complications of highly managed populations, mainly due to breeder's conventions and the resulting population structure, is of great importance for the proper development of a strategy against the disease. In this study, we have compared the utilities and performances of both genomic and phenotypic selection against hip dysplasia in a simulated population with the characteristics of the British Veterinary Association and Kennel Club (BVA/KC) hip dysplasia scheme. The results confirm the potential benefits of genomic selection by showing a moderate increase of 1.15-fold (assuming a realistic accuracy of r2 = 0.5) in response to selection due to the higher accuracy (between 0.96- and 1.32-fold, considering 0.35 ≤ r2 ≤ 0.7) and more than a threefold increase when all the offspring in each litter are tested (between 3.25- and 4.55-fold, again considering 0.35 ≤ r2 ≤ 0.7). © 2013 The Authors Journal of Animal Breeding and Genetics Published by Blackwell Verlag GmbH.