Pedigree Analysis of Holstein Bulls in Slovakia

The aim of the study was to evaluate the genetic diversity in Holstein bulls population in Slovakia by the methods of pedigree analysis. The population was represented by the bulls with reserve of frozen semen doses in AI centers. Whole reference population consisted of 169 bulls born from 1997 to 2009. For calculation of diversity parameters the program Endog v.4.8 (Gutiérrez, Goyache, 2005) was used. An average maximal number of generations traced was 9.35, 3.06 complete generations and equivalent number of generations traced was 5.71. An average coefficient of inbreeding was 2.48%, individual increase in inbreeding was 0.53% and average relatedness was 2.72%. The 167 bulls from 169 were inbred (98.82%). An average number of offsprings per bull was 107.70 with maximal number 1,641 offsprings. The effective population size computed via individual increase in inbreeding was 94.50. The effective number of founders was 88, effective number of ancestors 31 and only 13 ancestors described 50% of diversity. From these results we can conclude that the diversity of Holstein bulls is reduced by more factors (inbreeding, high relatedness, bottlenecks). Obtained results point out the need to use new outbred bull lines for mating cows.