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Residual Feed Intake in Beef Cattle; Genes, Metabolites and Beyond
Residual feed intake (RFI) is one of the most economically important traits in beef cattle because selection for desirable RFI will result in animals which consume less feed without compromising their level of production. RFI is phenotypically independent of body weight and growth rate making it a favorable measure of feed efficiency compared to the measures which are correlated with production traits. However, RFI is genetically correlated with production traits, which indicates that these traits are influenced by common biological processes. To successfully select for RFI, there is need to develop a better understanding of the mechanisms that regulate its variation at the genetic level (pre-transcription), post-translation and the possible interactions that may exist between these mechanisms. In this paper we attempt to combine these biological mechanisms and encourage an integrated approach in selecting cattle for RFI.
Keywords:
Beef cattle
Residual feed intake
Selection
