Matingsplanning

Matingsplanning is a systematic approach to planning matings within breeding programs to achieve genetic improvement while safeguarding welfare and maintaining genetic diversity. The concept applies to both animal and plant breeding, and increasingly incorporates genomic information, data analytics, and simulation tools to forecast outcomes and manage risks.

The core aims of matingsplanning include increasing desirable traits, reducing disorder risks, maintaining adaptation to environments, and preserving a healthy level of genetic variation. Practitioners define objectives such as production performance, disease resistance, or quality traits, and combine this with constraints like inbreeding control, generation interval, and budget. Data on phenotypes, pedigrees, and molecular markers feed into models that estimate genetic merit, including estimated breeding values and genomic estimated breeding values, which in turn inform mating decisions through selection indices and optimization procedures.

Mating designs are central to matingsplanning. Decisions cover who mates with whom, how often to mate, and how to structure linebred, outbred, or rotational schemes to balance genetic gain with diversity. Designs aim to manage inbreeding coefficients and effective population size while achieving the target trait improvements. Modern practices frequently use computer simulations and optimization algorithms to evaluate many mating scenarios before implementation.

Applications span livestock and crop improvement, conservation programs for endangered species, and breeding strategies for pet populations. Ethical considerations focus on animal welfare, genetic diversity, and the social impacts of breeding choices. See also quantitative genetics, selection index, inbreeding, and mating design for related topics.