Genetic parameters and age-dependent genetic variation of growth and body conformation traits in Xinjiang Huaxi cattle

Background Growth performance and body conformation traits are important selection objectives in beef cattle breeding. However, genetic parameters describing developmental patterns remain limited in newly established breeds such as Huaxi cattle. Results The estimated genetic variation differed among body conformation traits. Skeletal traits showed relatively high heritability, including body height (0.58), hip height (0.50), and cannon circumference (0.47), whereas body weight and body length showed lower estimates (0.18 and 0.17, respectively). The lower heritability of body weight was mainly associated with larger residual variation. In the longitudinal analysis, body weight heritability changed with age and reached the highest value at 12 months (0.46). Genetic correlations among body weights from 3 to 24 months were consistently high (> 0.98), whereas birth weight showed weak genetic relationships with later growth stages. Maternal effects were additionally evaluated for birth and three-month weights, and maternal permanent environmental effects were identified as an important source of variation for three-month body weight. Conclusions This study characterizes genetic variation in body conformation and longitudinal growth patterns in Huaxi cattle. Post-weaning body weights showed strong genetic relationships across ages, whereas birth weight represented a relatively distinct genetic stage. These results characterize the genetic variation underlying body conformation and longitudinal growth in Xinjiang Huaxi cattle and provide reference information for genetic evaluation of this population.