Título:	Genetic parameters of methane emission, feed efficiency, feeding behaviour, and growth traits in beef cattle.
Autoria:	SILVA, J. A. da VALENTE, J. P. S. MOTA, L. F. M. RODRIGUES, G. R. D. SOARES, T. L. da S. SANTOS, J. de O. MEJÍA PELAEZ, A. MONTEIRO, F. M. CANESIN, R. C. ALBUQUERQUE, L. G. MERCADANTE, M. E. Z.
Afiliação:	JOSÉ ALVES DA SILVA, INSTITUTO DE ZOOTECNIA; JÚLIA DE PAULA SOARES VALENTE, INSTITUTO DE ZOOTECNIA; LUCIO FLAVIO MACEDO, UNIVERSIDADE ESTADUAL PAULISTA; GUSTAVO ROBERTO DIAS RODRIGUES, INSTITUTO DE ZOOTECNIA; TAINARA LUANA DA SILVA SOARES, INSTITUTO DE ZOOTECNIA; JULIANA DE OLIVEIRA SANTOS MARCATTO, CNPMA; AMALIA MEJÍA PELAEZ, CIA. DE MELHORAMENTO; FÁBIO M MONTEIRO, INSTITUTO DE ZOOTECNIA; ROBERTA CARRILHO CANESIN, INSTITUTO DE ZOOTECNIA; L. G. ALBUQUERQUE, UNIVERSIDADE ESTADUAL PAULISTA; MARIA EUGÊNIA Z MERCADANTE, INSTITUTO DE ZOOTECNIA.
Ano de publicação:	2025
Referência:	Journal of Animal Breeding and Genetics, v., n., p., 2025., 2025
Conteúdo:	Abstract: Climate change has intensified the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, particularly methane (CH4) from enteric fermentation. Genetic selection has emerged as a promising mitigation strategy; however, studies on Bos taurus indicus , especially Nellore cattle, remain limited. This study aimed to estimate heritabilities and genetic correlations for CH4 emission traits and their relationships with feeding behaviour, feed efficiency, and performance, as well as to evaluate the direct and correlated responses to selection for lower CH4 emissions. Data were from 2418 Nellore cattle evaluated in feed efficiency trials. Traits included dry matter intake (DMI), feeding time per day (FTd), feed events per day (FEd), and feeding rate (FR), residual feed intake (RFI), average daily gain (ADG), and mid-test body weight (MBW). Methane emissions were measured in 1153 animals using the SF6 tracer technique, providing daily CH4 emission (g/day), CH4 per unit of DMI (CH4DMI, g/day), and residual CH4 (CH4res). Variance components were estimated using the single-step genomic BLUP (ssGBLUP) method through Bayesian inference. Heritability estimates were moderate for CH4 (0.25), CH4DMI (0.14), CH4res (0.14), and performance traits such as DMI (0.35), ADG (0.36), and MBW (0.40). Higher estimates were observed for feeding behaviour traits FTd (0.49) and FR (0.42). Genetic correlations between CH4 and production traits were high, particularly with DMI (0.79), ADG (0.90), and MBW (0.91), indicating that selection for reduced CH4 emissions may affect growth. Direct selection for CH4 led to a modest annual reduction in emissions but also a correlated decline in MBW. These results demonstrate that while CH4 emissions are heritable, their strong genetic association with productivity traits indicates that isolated selection for reduced emissions may lead to undesirable outcomes in feed intake and performance. Therefore, strategies aiming to reduce CH4 emissions should consider the genetic relationships with growth and efficiency traits to avoid compromising animal productivity.
NAL Thesaurus:	genetic correlation
Palavras-chave:	Bos taurus indicus Enteric methane Heritability estimates
Digital Object Identifier:	https://doi.org/10.1111/jbg.70037
Notas:	Online first.
Tipo do material:	Artigo de periódico
Acesso:	openAccess
Aparece nas coleções:	Artigo em periódico indexado (CNPMA)