Symposium review: The genomic architecture of inbreeding: How homozygosity affects health and performance

Inbreeding depression is a growing concern in livestock because it can detrimentally affect animal fitness, health, and production levels. Genomic information can be used to more effectively capture variance in Mendelian sampling, thereby enabling more accurate estimation of inbreeding, but further progress is still required. The calculation of inbreeding for herd management purposes is largely still done using pedigree information only, although inbreeding coefficients calculated in this manner have been shown to be less accurate than genomic inbreeding measures. Continuous stretches of homozygous genotypes, so called runs of homozygosity, have been shown to provide a better estimate of autozygosity at the genomic level than conventional measures based on inbreeding coefficients calculated through conventional pedigree information or even genomic relationship matrices. For improved and targeted management of genomic inbreeding at the population level, the development of methods that incorporate genomic information in mate selection programs may provide a more precise tool for reducing the detrimental effects of inbreeding in dairy herds. Additionally, a better understanding of the genomic architecture of inbreeding and incorporating that knowledge into breeding programs could significantly refine current practices. Opportunities to maintain high levels of genetic progress in traits of interest while managing homozygosity and sustaining acceptable levels of heterozygosity in highly selected dairy populations exist and should be examined more closely for continued sustainability of both the dairy cattle population as well as the dairy industry. The inclusion of precise genomic measures of inbreeding, such as runs of homozygosity, inbreeding, and mating programs, may provide a path forward. In this symposium review article, we describe traditional measures of inbreeding and the recent developments made toward more precise measures of homozygosity using genomic information. The effects of homozygosity resulting from inbreeding on phenotypes, the identification and mapping of detrimental homozygosity haplotypes, management of inbreeding with genomic data, and areas in need of further research are discussed.