Interpretive Summary: Utility of multi-omics data to inform genomic prediction of heifer fertility traits

By: Muhammad S Tahir, Laercio R Porto-Neto, Toni Reverter-Gomez, Babatunde S Olasege, Mirza R Sajid, Kimberley B Wockner, Andre W L Tan, Marina R S Fortes

Prior biological information can be helpful in the genomic prediction of the traits. Previous multi-omics studies by our group identified genes relevant to puberty and fertility in Brahman cattle, a beef breed in northern Australia. We used this biological information in the genomic prediction of three heifer fertility traits, measured in another beef cattle breed: Tropical Composites. The three traits were: pregnancy status after the first mating season (PREG1), first conception score (FCS), and rebreeding score (REB). To test if prior biological information could capture genetic variation in the traits and improve genomic predictions, we compared the results obtained using three subsets of genetic information (i.e., subsets of DNA variants). The first subset contained only variants deemed biologically relevant (as per previous multi-omics studies). The second subset contained only variants considered biologically irrelevant. The third subset had all the variants contained in the commercial DNA assay known as the bovine high-density chip, intended as a practical control. The results indicate that multi-omics data was informative across breed scenario and can be useful in informing genomic predictions of traits of interest.