Heterogeneity in the effect of partial inbreeding of founder animals on birth weight and weaning weight of Baluchi lambs

Uneven distribution of recessive alleles among founder animals genomes leads to the heterogeneity of inbreeding depression among their descendants. In this study, pedigree information, birth weight, and weaning weight records of 4032 Baluchi sheep collected between 1989 to 2017 at the Baluchi sheep breeding station were used to assess the heterogeneity of inbreeding depression between founders of the population. The Wright inbreeding coefficient of the inbred animals was decomposed to the partial inbreeding of the four founder animals with the greatest contribution to the inbreeding of the population. Wright inbreeding coefficients and partial inbreeding coefficients of the founder animals were included as a covariate in the animal model, in two separate analyses. The regression coefficients of birth weight and weaning weight from Wright inbreeding were estimated to be -6.4 and -61.9 g, respectively. The effect of partial inbreeding from different founders on the studied traits was heterogeneous. The regression coefficient of birth weight on partial inbreeding of founder B was -79 g, while partial inbreeding from founder D caused an increase of 121 g in this trait. In weaning weight, partial inbreeding of founder D caused an increase of 83 g in this trait, while partial inbreeding of other founders did not affect this trait. The observed heterogeneity in the effects of partial inbreeding of the different animals can confirm the hypothesis that a few recessive alleles with major effects are contributing to the inbreeding depression of these traits. According to the results of this study, the heterogeneity of the effect of inbreeding of the founder animals should be considered in the genetic evaluation model of this breed.