Conservation of local Red cattle breeds by collaboration with a mainstream Red dairy cattle breed

Numerous Red cattle breeds exist all throughout Europe. Some Red cattle breeds are only used locally in certain regions and are smaller in population size, whereas other Red cattle breeds are used in multiple countries in mainstream production environments. Conservation of local Red breeds is necessary to maintain genetic diversity. Collaboration between local and mainstream Red cattle breeds can increase the genetic potential of the local breed and thereby the success of survival. The aim of this paper was to explore possibilities to increase the genetic potential of local Red cattle breeds by collaboration with a mainstream Red cattle breed, while at the same time conserve the local Red cattle breeds. Three breeds were included in this study; the mainstream Red dairy cattle breed from Denmark, Finland and Sweden (RDC) and two local Red cattle breeds, German Red and White dual-purpose cattle (RDN), and Lithuanian Red (LIR). Each simulation included the RDC breeding program and one local Red breeding program. Simulated time was 30 years, in which the first 20 years were used to build up reference populations and the last 10 years were used to run a genomic selection scheme with varying levels of collaboration between the local and the mainstream breeding program in the different scenarios. The maximum percentage of breeding bulls selected for breeding to the cows in the local breeding program that could originate from the RDC breeding program differed between scenarios, and could be either 0, 20, 50 or 100%. Results show that the maximum rate of genetic gain in the local breeds was reached in the scenarios where maximum 20, 50 or 100% of the breeding bulls could originate from the RDC breeding program. The highest rate of inbreeding was found in the scenario where no RDC bulls were selected in the local breeding programs. However, even with very restricted selection, the breed proportion of the local breeds dropped significantly after ten years of genomic selection. To really conserve a local breed such as RDN or LIR, a different selection strategy is needed.

Automated summary

Red cattle breeds exist throughout Europe. Collaborating with mainstream breeds can increase local breed's genetic potential, but may result in decreased breed purity.