Ben J. Hayes

TL;DR: It was concluded that selection on genetic values predicted from markers could substantially increase the rate of genetic gain in animals and plants, especially if combined with reproductive techniques to shorten the generation interval.

TL;DR: In this article, a new technology called genomic selection is revolutionizing dairy cattle breeding, which refers to selection decisions based on genomic breeding values (GEBV) and is calculated as the sum of the effects of dense genetic markers, or haplotypes of these markers, across the entire genome, thereby capturing all the quantitative trait loci (QTL) that contribute to variation in a trait.

TL;DR: The reliabilities of GEBV achieved were significantly greater than the reliability of parental average breeding values, the current criteria for selection of bull calves to enter progeny test teams, and the increase in reliability is sufficiently high that at least 2 dairy breeding companies are already marketing bull teams for commercial use based on their GEBv only.

TL;DR: This work uses genome-wide SNP panels as markers and statistical methods that capture the effects of large numbers of SNPs simultaneously to double the rate of genetic improvement per year in many livestock systems.

TL;DR: Data show that cattle have undergone a rapid recent decrease in effective population size from a very large ancestral population, possibly due to bottlenecks associated with domestication, selection, and breed formation.