Abstract

Dairy cattle breeding strategies in the past have been effective in producing rapid genetic gain to achieve industry targets. However, this practice can limit the level of genetic diversity via inbreeding and selection. The purpose of this study was to characterize the level of genetic diversity and genetic divergence within the Australian and international Holstein Friesian dairy population. Our results show that there are no detectable genetic effects from past breeding practices in Australia, and the global HF dairy population is essentially one single population.

K. R Zenger, M. S Khatkar, J. AL Cavanagh, R. J Hawken, M. Hobbs, W. Barris, A. E McClintock, P. C Thomson, F. W Nicholas, H. W Raadsma

Proceedings of the World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production, Volume , , 01.41, 2006