Estimates of Crossbreed Parameters on Milk Production and Reproductive Traits from Crossbreeding Between Holestein and Boran Breeds at Holeta Agricultural Research Center, Ethiopia

Estimates of Crossbreed Parameters on Milk Production and Reproductive Traits from Crossbreeding Between Holestein and Boran Breeds at Holeta Agricultural Research Center, Ethiopia | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Estimates of Crossbreed Parameters on Milk Production and Reproductive Traits from Crossbreeding Between Holestein and Boran Breeds at Holeta Agricultural Research Center, Ethiopia Asamenew Ayalew This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8840381/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study aimed to assess the genetic effects of breed additive, heterosis, and recombination in indigenous Borena cattle and their crossbreeds with Holstein Friesian dairy cows at the Holetta Agricultural Research Center. A total of 14,028 performance records from pure Borena and crossbred dairy cattle were utilized in the study. To perform the estimations, crossbreeding parameters for milk production and reproductive traits were analyzed. The crossbreeding parameters—breed additive, heterosis, and recombination losses—were estimated using regression analysis with SAS software (2004). The analysis results showed that additive genetic effects were greater than heterosis effects across all milk production and reproductive traits. Compared to the indigenous Borena breed, the Holstein Friesian breed exhibited additive genetic effects of 3728 ± 139.4 kg for lactation milk yield (LMY), 10.89 ± 0.3 kg for daily milk yield (DMY), and 48.95 ± 14.8 days for lactation length (LL). Likewise, the direct heterosis effects observed in crossbred dairy cows were − 81.65 ± 97.98 kg for lactation milk yield (LMY), 0.44 ± 0.2 kg for daily milk yield (DMY), and − 18.72 ± 10.38 days for lactation length (LL). Crossbreeding did not always have positive effects on milk production traits. In this study, unfavorable interactions of epistatic alleles (recombination loss) resulted in reductions of 1440.92 ± 152.25 kg in lactation milk yield (LMY), 2.55 ± 0.33 kg in daily milk yield (DMY), and 75.15 ± 16.13 days in lactation length (LL). The breed additive genetic effects of Holstein Friesian, compared to the Borena breed, for calving interval (CI), age at first calving (AFS), and age at first calving (AFC), were 21.51 ± 29.19 days, 2.29 ± 3.12 months, 2.23 ± 3.12 months, respectively. In the current study, the heterosis retention values for crossbred dairy cows were 5.33 ± 19.79 days for calving interval (CI), -8.79 ± 2.7 months for age at first calving (AFS), and − 8.84 ± 2.7 months for age at first calving (AFC). Friesian and Borena crossbred cows showed a reduction from Boran cows of approximately 81.01 ± 32.71days in calving interval (CI), 2.95 ± 3.15 months for age at first service (AFS), and 2.91 ± 3.15 months for age at first calving (AFC) due to favorable recombination effects. Animal Science Additive genetic effect Boran cattle Crossbreeding Heterosis Holstein Friesian Milk yield Reproductive performance Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8840381","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":588950654,"identity":"872f6cb5-88aa-4c14-b9b6-83f9a735f88d","order_by":0,"name":"Asamenew Ayalew","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABFklEQVRIiWNgGAWjYJADxgcJFRJyINaBB0RqYTb4cMbCGKwlgUgtbJIz2yoSG0BMfFr4+w8/3fBxh01i/4zkB9I8bBLp88MOPwTaYien24Bdi8SNNLObM8+kJc64kWZgzMMjkbvxdpoBUEuysdkBHNbcYDC7zdt2OLfhRoJBMo8EUMvsBJCWA4nbcGiRP3/82+2/bf9z599I/3CYx0Ai3XB2+ge8WgwO5JjdZmw7kLvhRo5h44wEiQR56Rz8thjeyCm72duWXL/xzJtihg8HJAw3SOcUHAA6Eqdf5M4f33bjZ5udsdzx9O0/Ev/VycvPTt/84UOFnRxO78OBQALMqWCSkHIQ4IcaKt9AjOpRMApGwSgYSQAAIM1tkgW3eVMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Asamenew","middleName":"","lastName":"Ayalew","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-02-10 11:37:30","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":true,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":true},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8840381/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8840381/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":102398255,"identity":"fe73af50-c0f4-452e-a73e-9a1a0419fa6b","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-02-11 10:21:57","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":430301,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"RevisedManuscriptcrossbreedparameterestimation.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8840381/v1_covered_e545a54f-73cd-480a-8594-ef7cc15837fb.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEstimates of Crossbreed Parameters on Milk Production and Reproductive Traits from Crossbreeding Between Holestein and Boran Breeds at Holeta Agricultural Research Center, Ethiopia\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Additive genetic effect, Boran cattle, Crossbreeding, Heterosis, Holstein Friesian, Milk yield, Reproductive performance","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8840381/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8840381/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThis study aimed to assess the genetic effects of breed additive, heterosis, and recombination in indigenous Borena cattle and their crossbreeds with Holstein Friesian dairy cows at the Holetta Agricultural Research Center. A total of 14,028 performance records from pure Borena and crossbred dairy cattle were utilized in the study. To perform the estimations, crossbreeding parameters for milk production and reproductive traits were analyzed. The crossbreeding parameters\u0026mdash;breed additive, heterosis, and recombination losses\u0026mdash;were estimated using regression analysis with SAS software (2004). The analysis results showed that additive genetic effects were greater than heterosis effects across all milk production and reproductive traits. Compared to the indigenous Borena breed, the Holstein Friesian breed exhibited additive genetic effects of 3728\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;139.4 kg for lactation milk yield (LMY), 10.89\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.3 kg for daily milk yield (DMY), and 48.95\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;14.8 days for lactation length (LL). Likewise, the direct heterosis effects observed in crossbred dairy cows were \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;81.65\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;97.98 kg for lactation milk yield (LMY), 0.44\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.2 kg for daily milk yield (DMY), and \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;18.72\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;10.38 days for lactation length (LL). Crossbreeding did not always have positive effects on milk production traits. In this study, unfavorable interactions of epistatic alleles (recombination loss) resulted in reductions of 1440.92\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;152.25 kg in lactation milk yield (LMY), 2.55\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.33 kg in daily milk yield (DMY), and 75.15\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;16.13 days in lactation length (LL). The breed additive genetic effects of Holstein Friesian, compared to the Borena breed, for calving interval (CI), age at first calving (AFS), and age at first calving (AFC), were 21.51\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;29.19 days, 2.29\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;3.12 months, 2.23\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;3.12 months, respectively. In the current study, the heterosis retention values for crossbred dairy cows were 5.33\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;19.79 days for calving interval (CI), -8.79\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;2.7 months for age at first calving (AFS), and \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;8.84\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;2.7 months for age at first calving (AFC). Friesian and Borena crossbred cows showed a reduction from Boran cows of approximately 81.01\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;32.71days in calving interval (CI), 2.95\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;3.15 months for age at first service (AFS), and 2.91\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;3.15 months for age at first calving (AFC) due to favorable recombination effects.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Estimates of Crossbreed Parameters on Milk Production and Reproductive Traits from Crossbreeding Between Holestein and Boran Breeds at Holeta Agricultural Research Center, Ethiopia","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-02-11 08:48:14","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8840381/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"298091d4-ccbc-4203-9fc3-4975538061b3","owner":[],"postedDate":"February 11th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":62661455,"name":"Animal Science"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-02-13T07:11:31+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-02-11 08:48:14","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8840381","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8840381","identity":"rs-8840381","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}