Johann Sölkner - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Johann Sölkner

Frontiers in Genetics, Sep 27, 2022

Czech Journal of Animal Science, Apr 30, 2018

Livestock Science, Feb 1, 2020

Small Ruminant Research, Jun 1, 2012

ABSTRACT a b s t r a c t A bio-economic model was adapted to estimate economic values for importa... more ABSTRACT a b s t r a c t A bio-economic model was adapted to estimate economic values for important traits of two Ethiopian indigenous sheep breeds, the Menz and Horro breeds. To do so, a meat sheep herd for fattening lambs and rearing young replacement sheep was simulated. Traits included in the analysis were: daily gain (fattening trait), live weight of ewes, length of productive life, lambing interval, litter size, stillbirths and lamb survival (functional traits). To avoid double counting, the economic value for each trait was derived while keeping all other traits constant. Economic values were obtained per ewe place, year, and genetic standard deviation. For the Menz breed, economic values in D per genetic standard deviation were 0.63 (daily gain), −0.77 (mature ewe live weight), −0.97 (length of productive life), 1.57 (lambing interval), 0.98 (litter size), 0.41 (stillbirths) and 2.20 (lamb survival). Economic values (in D) of 1.35 (daily gain), −1.26 (mature ewe live weight), −1.15 (length of produc-tive life), 1.98 (lambing interval), 3.67 (litter size), 0.56 (stillbirth) and 3.25 (lamb survival) were derived for the Horro breed. Negative economic values for length of productive life and mature ewe live weight were estimated for both breeds. After setting the economic val-ues of length of productive life and mature ewe live weight to zero, the economic values (in %) for the ratio of the trait complexes fattening: functional traits were 11:89 and 12.5:87.5 for Menz and Horro, respectively. Economic values for litter size, lambing interval and lamb survival traits were sensitive to changes in price for breeding rams in both breeds.

African Journal of Agricultural Research, Mar 17, 2016

Small Ruminant Research, Jun 1, 2019

Frontiers in Genetics, Feb 10, 2015

Nature Genetics, Feb 19, 2018

HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), Jun 8, 2021

Proceedings of 12th World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production (WCGALP), Dec 31, 2022

Animal Genetics

We used genome‐wide SNP data from 18 local cattle breeds from six countries of the Alpine region ... more We used genome‐wide SNP data from 18 local cattle breeds from six countries of the Alpine region to characterize population structure and identify genomic regions underlying positive selection. The geographically close breeds Evolèner, Eringer, Valdostana Pezzata Nera, and Valdostana Castana were found to differ from all other Alpine breeds. In addition, three breeds, Simmental, and Original Braunvieh from Switzerland and Pinzgauer from Austria built three separate clusters. Of the 18 breeds studied, the intra‐alpine Swiss breed Evolèner had the highest average inbreeding based on runs of homozygosity (FROH) and the highest average genomic relationship within the breed. In contrast, Slovenian Cika cattle had the lowest average genomic inbreeding and the lowest average genomic relationship within the breed. We found selection signatures on chromosome 6 near known genes such as KIT and LCORL explaining variation in coat color and body size in cattle. The most prominent selection signa...

By their paternal transmission, Y-chromosomal haplotypes are sensitive markers of population hist... more By their paternal transmission, Y-chromosomal haplotypes are sensitive markers of population history and male-mediated introgression. Previous studies identified biallelic single-nucleotide variants in the SRY, ZFY, DDX3Y genes, which in domestic goats identified four major Y-chromosomal haplotypes Y1A, Y1B, Y2A and Y2B with a marked geographic partitioning. Here, we analyze whole-genome sequences of 386 domestic goats from 75 modern breeds and 7 wild goat species that were generated by the VarGoats goat genome project. Phylogenetic analyses indicated domestic haplogroups corresponding to Y1B, Y2A and Y2B, respectively, whereas Y1A is split into Y1AA and Y1AB. All five haplogroups were detected in 26 ancient DNA samples from southeast Europe or Asia. Haplotypes from present-day bezoars are not shared with domestic goats and are attached to deep nodes of the trees and networks. Haplogroup distributions for 180 domestic breeds indicate ancient paternal population bottlenecks and expan...

1 Mekelle University, College of Dryland Agriculture and Natural Resources, Department of Animal,... more 1 Mekelle University, College of Dryland Agriculture and Natural Resources, Department of Animal, Rangeland and Wildlife Sciences. P.O. Box 231 Mekelle, Ethiopia. 2 Corresponding author: e-mail: kahsatadel06@yahoo.com or kasolet2006@gmail.com 3 University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, Gregor Mendel-Strasse 33, A-1180 Vienna, Austria, e-mail: johann.soelkner@boku.ac.at and maria.wurzinger@boku.ac.at 4 Debre-Berhan Agricultural Research Center, P.O. Box 112, Debre-Berhan, Ethiopia, e-mail: s_gizaw@yahoo.com 5 International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), P. O. Box 5466, Tel Hadya Aleppo, Syria, e-mail: A.Haile@cgiar.org and B.Rischkowsky@cgiar.org ABSTRACT A system dynamics approach was used to determine the sustainable stocking rate of the Menz sheep population in the Ethiopian highland. A model was developed to simulate stocking rate based on communal grazing land. The model is weather and resource (feed supply) driven. Pasture growth and...

University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Division of livestock Sciences, GregorMendel-S... more University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Division of livestock Sciences, GregorMendel-Str. 33, 1180 Vienna, Austria solomon.tufa@students.boku.ac.at (Corresponding Author) Ambo University, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Science, Department of Animal Science, P.O.Box 19, Ambo, Ethiopia ICARDA (International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas), P.O.Box 5689, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development in the Tropics and Subtropics, 2020

Community-based livestock breeding programmes (CBBPs) have emerged as a potential approach to imp... more Community-based livestock breeding programmes (CBBPs) have emerged as a potential approach to implement sustainable livestock breeding in smallholder systems. In Malawi and Uganda, goat CBBPs were introduced to improve production and productivity of indigenous goats through selective breeding. Scaling up CBBPs have recently received support due to evidence-based results from current implementation and results of CBBPs implemented in other regions of the world. This paper explores strategies for scaling up goat CBBPs in Malawi and Uganda, and documents experiences and lessons learned during implementation of the programme. A number of stakeholders supporting goat-based interventions for improving smallholders’ livelihoods exists. This offers an opportunity for different actors to work together by pooling financial resources and technical expertise for establishment and sustainability of goat CBBPs. Scaling up strategies should be an integral part of the pilot design hence disseminati...

Frontiers in Genetics, 2016

The history of livestock started with the domestication of their wild ancestors: a restricted num... more The history of livestock started with the domestication of their wild ancestors: a restricted number of species allowed to be tamed and entered a symbiotic relationship with humans. In exchange for food, shelter and protection, they provided us with meat, eggs, hides, wool and draught power, thus contributing considerably to our economic and cultural development. Depending on the species, domestication took place in different areas and periods. After domestication, livestock spread over all inhabited regions of the earth, accompanying human migrations and becoming also trade objects. This required an adaptation to different climates and varying styles of husbandry and resulted in an enormous phenotypic diversity. Approximately 200 years ago, the situation started to change with the rise of the concept of breed. Animals were selected for the same visible characteristics, and crossing with different phenotypes was reduced. This resulted in the formation of different breeds, mostly gen...

Breeding values from 7416 Austrian and German Fleckvieh bulls were used to determine similarities... more Breeding values from 7416 Austrian and German Fleckvieh bulls were used to determine similarities and differences in the genomic architecture of stillbirth (SB), calving ease (CE) and gestation length (GL). The comparison was done using genome wide associations based on 42,041 SNPs after quality control and the full data set. The genomic region on BTA21 (2.4Mb) appeared to be significant for all three traits, containing the UBE3A gene connected to known syndromes impairing reproductive functions. The region on BTA14 (24Mb) was harbouring PLAG1, TGS1, RPS20, LYN and SOX17 connected to growth and body size was also significant for SB and CE, but was far from significance for GL. An additional peak was located on BTA6 (38Mb) significant for CE and approaching significance for SB. The genomic region contained the LCORL gene associated with both intrauterine growth and adult height. Based on the apparent significance of growth and body size related genomic regions for SB and CE, and the ...

Acta Agriculturae Slovenica, 2016

1 Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb, Svetosimunska 25, 1... more 1 Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb, Svetosimunska 25, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia 2 Corresponding author, e-mail: mferencakovic@agr.hr 3 Same address as 1, e-mail: majabanadinovic@hotmail.com 4 Same address as 1, e-mail: mario-215@hotmail.com 5 University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, Department of Sustainable Agricultural Systems, Division of Livestock Sciences, Gregor Mendel Str. 33, A-1180 Vienna, Austria, e-mail: negar.khayatzadeh@students.boku.ac.at 6 Same address as 5, e-mail: gabor.meszaros@boku.ac.at 7 Same address as 1, e-mail: vcubric@agr.hr 8 Same address as 1, e-mail: icurik@agr.hr 9 Same address as 5, e-mail: johann.soelkner@boku.ac.at ABSTRACT Heterozygosity, the state of possessing different alleles at a given locus of an individual, is functionally related to inbreeding, heterosis and biodiversity. We questioned the appearance of regions with extraordinary high rates of heterozygosity, here “Heterozygosity Rich Reg...