Genetic improvement for Holstein cows with high feed efficiency, effect on production traits and enteric methane emission

Breeding programs over the past few decades have significantly improved dairy production. Increasing milk production through traditional breeding methods has reached a bottleneck, and improving feed efficiency is a potential way to change the situation. The economic importance of feed efficiency is mainly through reducing feed costs, optimizing land and resource utilization, and improving the total profit of the dairy industry. In addition, improving feed efficiency can also minimize the impact on the environment, by reducing energy loss in feces and intestinal methane release during dairy production.

The aim of this study was to establish differential expression profiles on feeding efficiency through RNA-Seq data of dairy cattle, and to find important SNPS and pathways related to feeding efficiency. This study integrates knowledge from Genomics, Transcriptomics, Metabolomics, and Bioinformatics to further understand the underlying biological mechanisms. In addition, this study will use network biology analysis to find the interrelation between genes, discover special hub genes and explain their functions. The knowledge gained based on multiomics will help improve the development of gene breeding related to yield traits.