Genomic selection for meat quality traits based on VIS/NIR spectral information

The principle of genomic selection(GS) entails estimating breeding values(BVs) by summing all the SNP polygenic effects. The visible/near-infrared spectroscopy(VIS/NIRS) wavelength and abundance values can directly reflect the concentrations of chemical substances, and the measurement of meat traits by VIS/NIRS is similar to the processing of genomic selection data by summing all ‘polygenic effects' associated with spectral feature peaks. Therefore, it is meaningful to investigate the incorporation of VIS/NIRS information into GS models to establish an efficient and low-cost breeding model. In this study, we measured 6 meat quality traits in 359Duroc×Landrace×Yorkshire pigs from Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China, and genotyped them with high-density SNP chips. According to the completeness of the information for the target population, we proposed 4breeding strategies applied to different scenarios: Ⅰ, only spectral and genotypic data exist for the target population;Ⅱ, only spectral data exist for the target population; Ⅲ, only spectral and genotypic data but with different prediction processes exist for the target population; and Ⅳ, only spectral and phenotypic data exist for the target population.The 4 scenarios were used to evaluate the genomic estimated breeding value(GEBV) accuracy by increasing the VIS/NIR spectral information. In the results of the 5-fold cross-validation, the genetic algorithm showed remarkable potential for preselection of feature wavelengths. The breeding efficiency of Strategies Ⅱ, Ⅲ, and Ⅳ was superior to that of traditional GS for most traits, and the GEBV prediction accuracy was improved by 32.2, 40.8 and 15.5%, respectively on average. Among them, the prediction accuracy of Strategy Ⅱ for fat(%) even improved by 50.7% compared to traditional GS. The GEBV prediction accuracy of Strategy Ⅰ was nearly identical to that of traditional GS, and the fluctuation range was less than 7%. Moreover, the breeding cost of the 4 strategies was lower than that of traditional GS methods, with Strategy Ⅳ being the lowest as it did not require genotyping.Our findings demonstrate that GS methods based on VIS/NIRS data have significant predictive potential and are worthy of further research to provide a valuable reference for the development of effective and affordable breeding strategies.