Comparative analysis of the heritability, estimated breeding value, and accuracy of carcass traits in Hanwoo from the Yeongnam Region, considering breeding area and climate effects, utilizing genomic information

Climate change is causing abnormal weather patterns worldwide. In Korea, local governments are characterized by various climatic conditions. Therefore, research integrating climate factors with Hanwoo is necessary. In this study, 562 Hanwoo were analyzed using Pedigree Best Linear Unbiased Prediction (PBLUP) and Genomic BLUP (GBLUP) models while considering climate factors such as temperature and humidity in the Yeongnam region. Carcass Weight (CWT) varied significantly in PBLUP depending on the model, while the heritability of Eye Muscle Area (EMA) and Back-Fat Thickness (BFT) decreased. However, the Marbling Score (MS) maintained high heritability across all models. GBLUP showed a slight decrease in the analysis model that considers breeding areas and climatic factors, yet still led to a high estimate of heritability for all traits. However, MS consistently had a heritability of 0.50 across all models. In PBLUP, the accuracy of the Estimated Breeding Value (EBV) increased by 0.15 for CWT (0.62-0.77) compared to Model 1. However, a decrease of 0.01–0.06 was observed for EMA (0.62–0.68) and BFT (0.53–0.58), while an increase of 0.01 was noted for MS (0.72–0.73). The accuracy of EBV using GBLUP was as follows: CWT (0.75-0.77), EMA (0.72-0.80), BFT (0.71-0.81), and MS (0.75). The accuracy of BFT significantly increased compared to PBLUP. For MS, it did not appear to be influenced by breeding area and climatic conditions. These results suggest the need for ongoing research on the relationship between Hanwoo carcass traits and climate effects, requiring additional test groups from various breeding areas.