Estimation of animal × environment interaction in Czech beef cattle

The objective was the estimation of animal × environment interaction for weaning weight (WWT) of the most frequent breeds of beef cattle in the Czech Republic. The environment was represented by 3 areas: Mountain (1), Foothills (2) and Lowland (3). A pairwise analysis was carried out between the areas: 1 vs 2 ( n=5 149) and 2 vs 3 ( n=4 971) for the estimation of (co)variance components and genetic correlations between the environments. A multiple-trait animal model was used where weaning weights in different areas were considered as different traits. The direct and maternal heritability estimates of WWT were for area (1): 0.12 (direct) and 0.05 (maternal); for (2): 0.26 and 0.11 (direct), 0.10 and 0.11 (maternal) and for (3): 0.26 (direct) 0.03 (maternal). Direct and maternal genetic correlations were between: 1 and 2 0.98 and 0.65 respectively, with standard deviations 0.03 and 0.37 respectively, and between 2 and 3: 0.82 and 0.50 respectively, with standard deviations 0.12 and 0.31 respectivly. The magnitude of the across-areas genetic correlation indicates that the animal by environment interaction was not biologically important and can be ignored in the evaluation of beef cattle in the Czech Republic.