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To provide a cost-efficient parentage testing kit for red deer (Cervus elaphus), a 63 SNP set has been developed from a high-density Illumina BovineHD BeadChip containing 777 962 SNPs after filtering of genotypes of 50 stags. The successful genotyping rate was 38.6 % on the chip. The ratio of polymorphic loci among effectively genotyped loci was 6.5 %. The selected 63 SNPs have been applied to 960 animals to perform parentage control. Thirty SNPs out of the 63 had worked on the OpenArray platform. Their combined value of the probability of identity and exclusion probability was 4.9×10-11 and 0.99803, respectively. A search for loci linked with antler quality was also performed on the genotypes of the above-mentioned stags. Association studies revealed 14 SNPs associated with antler quality, where low-quality antlers with short and thin main beam antlers had values from 1 to 2, while high-quality antlers with long and strong main beams had values between 4 and 5. The chance for a stag to be correctly identified as having high-value antlers is expected to be over 88 %.

To provide a cost-efficient parentage testing kit for red deer (

Pedigree data of 13,339 border collie dog was collected along with canine hip dysplasia (CHD) and canine elbow dysplasia (CED) records (1352 CHD and 524 CED), and an inbreeding&ndash, purging (IP) model was created. Ancestral inbreeding coefficients were calculated by using a gene dropping simulation method with GRain 2.2 software. Cumulative logit models (CLM) for CHD and CED were fitted using a logit-link Poisson distribution and the classical (F_W), and ancestral inbreeding (F_BAL, F_KAL, and F_KAL_NEW) coefficients as linear regression coefficients. The effective population size was calculated from F_W and decreased in the examined period along with an increase of F_W, however, slight differences were found as a consequence of breeding dog imports. CHD values were lowered by the expansion of F_BAL, as the alleles had been inbred in the past. For CHD, signs of purging were obtained. There was a positive trend regarding the breeding activity (both sire and dam of the future litters should be screened and certified free from CHD and CED), as years of selection increased the frequency of alleles with favorable hip and elbow conformation. Division of the ancestral inbreeding coefficient showed that alleles that had been identical by descent (IBD) for the first time (F_KAL_NEW) had a negative effect on both traits, while F_KAL has shown favorable results for alleles IBD in past generations. Some authors had proven this phenomenon in captive populations or experimental conditions, however, no evidence of inbreeding purge has ever been described in dog populations. Despite the various breeding practices, it seems that alleles of these polygenic disorders could be successfully purged out of the population with long-term selection.

The aim of the study was to examine the factors affecting longevity (as the number of years spent in race) in the Hungarian Thoroughbred horse population, and to investigate the total earnings won during lifetime and per start. The performance data was collected from 3,029 Thoroughbred horses (1,704 female, 1,674 male) born between 1996 and 2018 in Hungary with full known racing career. A multivariate generalized linear model was used to estimate the effect of sex of the horses, age at first start and the month of birth to longevity, expressed by the number of starts and years spent in race. Age of the horses at first start had a significant effect on the years spent in race, thereafter the model was dissected into age groups initiating a more accurate research. This showed that birth month also have a momentous effect on the examined traits in case of 2-year-old horses. Age of the horses at first start also affected the lifetime earnings. Sex of the horses had no effect on longevity in 2-year olds however, males are more likely to race because female horses tend to win less money.

Pedigree data of the Border Collie dog breed were collected in Hungary to examine genetic diversity within the breed and its different lines. The database was based on available herd books dating from the development of the breed (in the late 1800s) to the present day. The constructed pedigree file consisted of 13,339 individuals, of which 1566 dogs (born between 2010 and 2016) composed the alive reference population which was active from breeding perspective. The breed is subdivided by phenotype, showing a thicker coat, harmonic movement, a wide skull, and heavier bones for the show type, and a thinner or sometimes short coat and smaller body for the working line, while the mixed line is quite heterogeneous (a combination of the above). Thus, the reference population was dissected according to the existing lines. The number of founders was 894, but eight individuals were responsible for contributing 50% of the genetic variability. The reference population had a pedigree completeness of 99.6% up to 15 generations and an inbreeding coefficient of 9.86%. Due to the changing breed standards and the requirements of the potential buyers, the effective population size substantially decreased between 2010 and 2016. Generation intervals varied between 4.09 and 4.71 years, where the sire paths were longer due to the later initial age of breeding in males compared to females. Genetic differences among the existing lines calculated by fixation indices are not significant, nonetheless ancestral inbreeding coefficients are able to show contrasts.

Authors analyzed data of 9 trophy parameters (weight of the antler, length of main beam, length of brow tine, length of bay tine, length of tray tine, circumference of coronet, lower circumference of main beam, upper circumference of main beam, number of total tines) of 6868 red deer stags shot between 1997 and 2007 and estimated ages were between 4-16 years, from two counties of Hungary (5946 from Somogy and 921 Bacs-Kiskun). General linear model was used to evaluate age and “county” effects on the trophy parameters. Age was a significant source of variation for all studied traits while county affected most of the studied parameters. Consequently the dataset was analyzed separately for each county. Low to high correlations (adjusted for age effect) were found both in Somogy (r=-0.04 - 0.80) and for Bacs-Kiskun (r=-0.06 - 0.70). Using principal component analysis (with orthogonal rotation) 4 factors were extracted which accounted for 73 % and 75 % of total variance in Bacs-Kiskun and Somogy county respectively. The first factor represents the circumferences of the trophy, the second factor the main tines (brow, bay, tray) of the antler. The third and fourth factors represented the number of total tines of the trophies and the length of main beam respectively. These identified factors could be considered in selection/evaluation of the trophies in Hungarian red deer instead of the traditionally used measurements in order to maintain type and quality of the red deer trophy in Hungary.

We stated that the interaction of nitrogen rate and tillage method was not significant. The nitrogen rate has not influenced significantly the internal Fusarium infection of seeds either (P=0.7805). However, tillage method had significant impact on Fusarium infection (P=0.0020). It was obvious that Fusarium infection was lower under disking compared to other methods, so the soil-mixing effect and cutting of stubble residues due to disking might play an important role in controlling Fusarium in conservation soil tillage systems. When plant residues are cut into pieces, microbial activity is promoted and decomposition is faster, so Fusarium has less substance to live on. In this case tillage equipments with discs might play an important role against Fusarium infection in conservation tillage systems.

Concerning the effect of conservation tillage systems on the occurrence of pests, relatively not much experimental results are known in Hungary. The aim of our research is to investigate crop protection questions related to soiland environment conservation tillage and crop sequence. In our experiment we intend to investigate the effect of different soil tillage systems on insects and their natural enemies. Crop protection observations have been carried out in our experiment set up in 2003. The experimental field is situated in J6zsef-major (SZIE GAK

The aim of this study was to estimate variance components of racing ability in Thoroughbreds involved in steeplechase races. Race results were collected from steeplechase races in France (n=9041), in the United Kingdom and Ireland (n=8314) and contained the results of overall 106 020 runs from 1998 to 2003. Performance was measured by two criteria: earnings and ranks after mathematical transformation. The effects of year, sex, age, and race were considered as fixed, animal, permanent environment and maternal as random. Maternal environmental component for ranks were 0.021 in France and 0.000 in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Estimated heritabilities for the ranking criteria were 0.18 (repeatability 0.33) in France and 0.06 (repeatability 0.19) in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The high genetic correlation between the two traits (0.94 and 0.97) gives the opportunity to find out the most suitable criteria for breeding value estimation.

Summary The aim of this study was to detect Thoroughbred mare families and sire lines, in France, in the United Kingdom and Ireland, whose offspring may be successful in steeplechase races and can be recommended therefore for sport horse breeding. Race results were collected from all steeplechase races in these countries between 1998 and 2003, which contained the results of 17 355 horses from 12 861 dams and 2452 sires. In France, non-Thoroughbred horses were also included in the analysis because they race and mate together with Thoroughbreds. Performance was measured with two criteria: earnings and ranks after mathematical transformation. The effects of year, sex, age and race were considered as fixed, animal, permanent environment and maternal environment as random. Precorrection for the effect of race was done to avoid computational difficulties. Maternal environmental components for ranks were 0.02 in France and zero in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Estimated heritabilities for the ranking criteria were 0.18 (repeatability 0.33) in France and 0.06 (repeatability 0.19) in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The high genetic correlation between the two criteria of measurement (0.94 and 0.97 respectively) gives the opportunity to choose the most suitable criteria for breeding value estimation. The ranking value, after statistical normalization has a great advantage for comparison between the countries.