Genotype by Energy Expenditure Interaction with Metabolic Syndrome Traits: The Portuguese Healthy Family Study

Moderate-to-high levels of physical activity are established as preventive factors in metabolic syndrome development. However, there is variability in the phenotypic expression of metabolic syndrome under distinct physical activity conditions. In the present study we applied a Genotype X Environment interaction method to examine the presence of GxEE interaction in the phenotypic expression of metabolic syndrome. A total of 958 subjects, from 294 families of The Portuguese Healthy Family study, were included in the analysis. Total daily energy expenditure was assessed using a 3 day physical activity diary. Six metabolic syndrome related traits, including waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, glucose, HDL cholesterol, total cholesterol and triglycerides, were measured and adjusted for age and sex. GxEE examination was performed on SOLAR 4.3.1. All metabolic syndrome indicators were significantly heritable. The GxEE interaction model fitted the data better than the polygenic model (p<0.001) for waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, glucose, total cholesterol and triglycerides. For waist circumference, glucose, total cholesterol and triglycerides, the significant GxEE interaction was due to rejection of the variance homogeneity hypothesis. For waist circumference and glucose, GxEE was also significant by the rejection of the genetic correlation hypothesis. The results showed that metabolic syndrome traits expression is significantly influenced by the interaction established between total daily energy expenditure and genotypes. Physical activity may be considered an environmental variable that promotes metabolic differences between individuals that are distinctively active.     

Gene by smoking interaction: evidence for effects on low-density lipoprotein size and plasma levels of triglyceride and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol

We seek to determine whether significant gene x smoking interaction effects exist on plasma triglyceride (TG) levels, HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) level, and median LDL particle diameter (LDL-MPD) in Mexican American families enrolled in the San Antonio Family Heart Study. The sample consisted of 1,392 individuals distributed in 42 extended pedigrees, ranging in age from 16 years to 92 years. Separate quantitative genetic analyses were carried out for TG and HDL-C level and LDL-MPD using a maximum-likelihood-based variance decomposition approach while simultaneously adjusting for age and sex. Initial heritability estimates demonstrated significant (p < 0.001) additive genetic contributions to all three traits (h2 range 0.50 - 0.54). To test for a gene x smoking interaction, we included in the model additional smoking-status-specific variance terms and a genetic correlation term between smokers and nonsmokers. Comparisons of nested models revealed significant evidence (p < 0.01) for a gene X smoking interaction effect on TG level and LDL-MPD and possible evidence for an effect on HDL-C level. These results indicate that the gene or suite of genes regulating each of these phenotypes is likely the same in smokers and non-smokers but that smoking may alter the expression of genes, particularly those influencing TG level and LDL-MPD.     

籼稻稻米蛋白质含量与外观品质性状间不同遗传体系的条件遗传相关分析

选用稻米蛋白质含量等品质差异较大的7个籼型不育系(A)及相应的保持系(B)与5个籼型恢复系(R)杂交,组成7×5不完全双列杂交组合。应用包括胚乳、细胞质和母体植株基因的遗传主效应以及基因型×环境互作效应的数量性状遗传模型及非条件和条件分析方法,研究了籼稻稻米蛋白质含量与外观品质性状间的遗传相关性,进一步揭示了籼稻糙米重、稻米直链淀粉含量对稻米蛋白质含量与外观品质性状间遗传相关性的影响。非条件分析的结果表明,除了与糙米厚的相关性未达到显著水平以外,蛋白质含量与其它稻米外观品质性状间的遗传相关性均达极显著水平,其中与糙米宽间的相关性表现为正值,其余为负向相关。条件分析的结果显示,糙米重和直链淀粉含量对稻米蛋白质含量与外观品质性状间的遗传相关性均可产生较大的影响。糙米重主要通过基因型×环境互作效应影响蛋白质含量与外观品质性状间的遗传相关性,其中对蛋白质含量与糙米长、糙米宽、糙米厚间遗传相关性的影响主要表现为负向作用,而对蛋白质含量与糙米长宽比、糙米长厚比间遗传相关性的影响则表现为正向作用。稻米直链淀粉主要通过细胞质遗传主效应和母体加性效应影响蛋白质含量与糙米长、糙米长宽比、糙米长厚比间的遗传相关性,而对蛋白质含量与糙米宽间的相关性影响主要表现为负向作用。     

A simple genetic basis for complex social behaviour mediates widespread gene expression differences

A remarkable social polymorphism is controlled by a single Mendelian factor in the fire ant Solenopsis invicta. A genomic element marked by the gene Gp‐9 determines whether workers tolerate one or many fertile queens in their colony. Gp‐9 was recently shown to be part of a supergene with two nonrecombining variants, SB and Sb. SB/SB and SB/Sb queens differ in how they initiate new colonies, and in many physiological traits, for example odour and maturation rate. To understand how a single genetic element can affect all these traits, we used a microarray to compare gene expression patterns between SB/SB and SB/Sb queens of three different age classes: 1‐day‐old unmated queens, 11‐day‐old unmated queens and mated, fully reproductive queens collected from mature field colonies. The number of genes that were differentially expressed between SB/SB and SB/Sb queens of the same age class was smallest in 1‐day‐old queens, maximal in 11‐day‐old queens and intermediate in reproductive queens. Gene ontology analysis showed that SB/SB queens upregulate reproductive genes faster than SB/Sb queens. For all age classes, genes inside the supergene were overrepresented among the differentially expressed genes. Consistent with the hypothesized greater number of transposons in the Sb supergene, 13 transposon genes were upregulated in SB/Sb queens. Viral genes were also upregulated in SB/Sb mature queens, consistent with the known greater parasite load in colonies headed by SB/Sb queens compared with colonies headed by SB/SB queens. Eighteen differentially expressed genes between reproductive queens were involved in chemical signalling. Our results suggest that many genes in the supergene are involved in regulating social organization and queen phenotypes in fire ants.     

Genotype by environment interactions in forest tree breeding: review of methodology and perspectives on research and application

Genotype by environment interaction (G×E) refers to the comparative performances of genotypes differing among environments, representing differences in genotype rankings or differences in the level of expression of genetic differences among environments. G×E can reduce heritability and overall genetic gain, unless breeding programmes are structured to address different categories of environments. Understanding the impact of G×E, the role of environments in generating G×E and the problems and opportunities is vital to efficient breeding programme design and deployment of genetic material. We review the current main analytical methods for identifying G×E: factor analytic models, biplot analysis and reaction norm. We also review biological and statistical evidence of G×E for growth, form and wood properties in forest species of global economic importance, including some pines, eucalypts, Douglas-fir, spruces and some poplars. Among these species, high levels of G×E tend to be reported for growth traits, with low levels of G×E for form traits and wood properties. Finally, we discuss possible ways of exploiting G×E to maximise genetic gain in forest tree breeding. Characterising the role of environments in generating interactions is seen as the basic platform, allowing efficient testing of candidate genotypes. We discuss the importance of level-of-expression interaction, relative to rank-change interaction, as being greater than in many past reports, especially for deployment decisions. We examine the impacts of G×E on tree breeding, some environmental factors that cause G×E and the strategies for dealing with G×E in tree breeding, and the future role of genomics.     

Genotype and sex-based host variation in behaviour and susceptibility drives population disease dynamics

Host heterogeneity in pathogen transmission is widespread and presents a major hurdle to predicting and minimizing disease outbreaks. Using Drosophila melanogaster infected with Drosophila C virus as a model system, we integrated experimental measurements of social aggregation, virus shedding, and disease-induced mortality from different genetic lines and sexes into a disease modelling framework. The experimentally measured host heterogeneity produced substantial differences in simulated disease outbreaks, providing evidence for genetic and sex-specific effects on disease dynamics at a population level. While this was true for homogeneous populations of single sex/genetic line, the genetic background or sex of the index case did not alter outbreak dynamics in simulated, heterogeneous populations. Finally, to explore the relative effects of social aggregation, viral shedding and mortality, we compared simulations where we allowed these traits to vary, as measured experimentally, to simulations where we constrained variation in these traits to the population mean. In this context, variation in infectiousness, followed by social aggregation, was the most influential component of transmission. Overall, we show that host heterogeneity in three host traits dramatically affects population-level transmission, but the relative impact of this variation depends on both the susceptible population diversity and the distribution of population-level variation.     

Variability of pulmonary function in alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency: residual family resemblance beyond the effect of the Pi locus

To gain insight into the variable expression of lung disease in alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency, two pulmonary function tests, FEV1 and FEF25-75, were examined in alpha 1-antitrypsin-deficient individuals and their families. The mean and variance effects of Pi type, age, and sex on the pulmonary function variables were removed by stepwise multiple regression, and the residual phenotypes were analyzed. Path analysis of the residual phenotypes with environmental indices in 46 nuclear families demonstrated highly significant cultural inheritance. Significant polygenic inheritance was not demonstrated for FEV1 but was shown for FEF25-75. For FEV1, adjustment for the significant interaction between Pi type and pack-years of smoking tended to increase the estimated contribution of polygenic inheritance and to decrease the estimated contribution of cultural inheritance. Segregation analysis of the residual phenotypes in 44 nuclear families was carried out to determine whether another major gene, other than the Pi locus, may be influencing pulmonary function in this population. Statistical evidence was found for an additional major gene influencing FEV1; however, the evidence diminished after adjusting for the effects of pack-years and the interaction between Pi type and pack-years. This apparent drop in the importance of genetic factors would not be surprising if the effect of the putative major gene is to enhance susceptibility to effects of cigarette smoking. Finally, our investigation demonstrates the feasibility of dissecting residual familial effects on complex multifactorial traits.     

家族传播的口腔白色念珠菌基因型多态性分析

目的检测家族传播的口腔白色念珠菌基因多态性。方法采集35个家庭（119个样本）的口腔牙菌斑,采用PCR ITS1-ITS2基因分型方法,检测、分析家族传播的口腔白色念珠菌基因多态性。结果 18个家庭（18/35,61%）,34个样本（34/119,28.6%）有白色念珠菌感染,11个家庭存在家族传播（11/18,61%）。在5个母子（父子）垂直传播的家庭成员中,白色念珠菌基因型均不一致。在3个呈水平传播的家庭成员中,两家基因型一致,1家不一致。在3个垂直-水平传播的家庭成员中,两家基因型一致,1家不一致。白色念珠菌家族传播基因型差异有显著统计学意义（χ2=26.571,P〈0.01）。白色念珠菌感染与年龄、性别、学历、吸烟、饮酒、义齿和龋病均无显著相关。结论白色念珠菌在口腔定植,受宿主自身遗传背景影响较大,在家族垂直传播中呈明显的基因多态性。呈水平传播的白色念珠菌菌种具有较高的传染性,基因型可保持不变。     

Significant sparse polygenic risk scores across 813 traits in UK Biobank

We present a systematic assessment of polygenic risk score (PRS) prediction across more than 1,500 traits using genetic and phenotype data in the UK Biobank. We report 813 sparse PRS models with significant (p < 2.5 x 10⁻⁵) incremental predictive performance when compared against the covariate-only model that considers age, sex, types of genotyping arrays, and the principal component loadings of genotypes. We report a significant correlation between the number of genetic variants selected in the sparse PRS model and the incremental predictive performance (Spearman’s ⍴ = 0.61, p = 2.2 x 10⁻⁵⁹ for quantitative traits, ⍴ = 0.21, p = 9.6 x 10⁻⁴ for binary traits). The sparse PRS model trained on European individuals showed limited transferability when evaluated on non-European individuals in the UK Biobank. We provide the PRS model weights on the Global Biobank Engine (https://biobankengine.stanford.edu/prs).     

Genotype x environment interaction for male attractiveness in an acoustic moth: evidence for plasticity and canalization

The lek paradox arises when choosy females deplete the genetic variance for male display traits from a population, yet substantial additive genetic variation (V_A) in male traits persists. Thus, the lek paradox can be more generally stated as one of the most fundamental evolutionary questions: What maintains genetic variation in natural populations? One solution to this problem may be found in the condition‐dependent nature of many sexually selected traits. Genotype × environment (G × E) interactions can maintain V_A under conditions of environmental heterogeneity provided certain restrictions are met, although antagonistic pleiotropy has also been proposed as a mechanism. Here, we provide evidence for G × E interactions and against the role of antagonistic pleiotropy in the maintenance of V_A for sexually selected traits. Using inbred lines of the lesser waxmoth Achroia grisella, we measured V_A for song attractiveness, condition and development rate under different competitive environments and found that genotypes differed in their plasticity. We argue that variation persists in natural populations because G × E interactions prevent any one variant from producing the optimal phenotype across all environments.     

Effects of Varying Epoch Lengths,Wear Time Algorithms,and Activity Cut-Points on Estimates of Child Sedentary Behavior and Physical Activity from Accelerometer Data

Objective

To examine the effects of accelerometer epoch lengths, wear time (WT) algorithms, and activity cut-points on estimates of WT, sedentary behavior (SB), and physical activity (PA).

Methods

268 7–11 year-olds with BMI ≥ 85^th percentile for age and sex wore accelerometers on their right hips for 4–7 days. Data were processed and analyzed at epoch lengths of 1-, 5-, 10-, 15-, 30-, and 60-seconds. For each epoch length, WT minutes/day was determined using three common WT algorithms, and minutes/day and percent time spent in SB, light (LPA), moderate (MPA), and vigorous (VPA) PA were determined using five common activity cut-points. ANOVA tested differences in WT, SB, LPA, MPA, VPA, and MVPA when using the different epoch lengths, WT algorithms, and activity cut-points.

Results

WT minutes/day varied significantly by epoch length when using the NHANES WT algorithm (p < .0001), but did not vary significantly by epoch length when using the ≥ 20 minute consecutive zero or Choi WT algorithms. Minutes/day and percent time spent in SB, LPA, MPA, VPA, and MVPA varied significantly by epoch length for all sets of activity cut-points tested with all three WT algorithms (all p < .0001). Across all epoch lengths, minutes/day and percent time spent in SB, LPA, MPA, VPA, and MVPA also varied significantly across all sets of activity cut-points with all three WT algorithms (all p < .0001).

Conclusions

The common practice of converting WT algorithms and activity cut-point definitions to match different epoch lengths may introduce significant errors. Estimates of SB and PA from studies that process and analyze data using different epoch lengths, WT algorithms, and/or activity cut-points are not comparable, potentially leading to very different results, interpretations, and conclusions, misleading research and public policy.     

籼粳杂交稻穗部性状的遗传效应及其与环境互作

采用包括基因型与环境互作效应的加性显性加性×加性上位性遗传模型,分析了不同环境下籼粳杂交稻穗部性状的遗传特点.结果表明,除了主穗粒数的加性与环境互作和二次枝梗数的显性与环境互作不显著外,其他性状均存在显著和极显著的加性、显性、加性×加性上位性遗传效应及其与环境的互作效应,其中均以显性效应为主,显性与环境互作效应对枝梗性状的影响较为明显.遗传率分析表明,各性状的普通广义遗传率最大,互作遗传率也有一定作用.杂种优势预测表明,除了一次、二次枝梗数外,其他性状均表现正向的杂种优势,基因型与环境互作只影响杂种优势表达的程度,而不改变其方向.遗传效应预测值结果表明,IR6615837、IR6560085、明恢63和R6694个亲本可以明显改良杂交后代多数穗部性状,且环境影响程度较小,可作为优良亲本列于育种计划中.     

籼粳亚种间杂交稻米脂肪含量的遗传分析

用包括基因型×环境互作效应的种子性状遗传模型,研究了籼粳亚种间杂交稻米脂肪含量的遗传特性,结果表明：在籼粳杂种中,脂肪含量的遗传表达主要受控于种子直接加性效应和母体加性效应,以前者为主．基因型X环境互作主要表现为显性（包括直接显性和母体显性）X环境以及细胞质X环境工作．直接近传率和母体遗传率都极显著．此外,根据遗传效应预测值对供试条本的利用价值作了评价．     

Interaction of FTO and physical activity level on adiposity in African-American and European-American adults: the ARIC study

Physical inactivity accentuates the association of variants in the FTO locus with obesity‐related traits but evidence is largely lacking in non‐European populations. Here we tested the hypothesis that physical activity (PA) modifies the association of the FTO single‐nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs9939609 with adiposity traits in 2,656 African Americans (AA) (1,626 women and 1,030 men) and 9,867 European Americans (EA) (5,286 women and 4,581 men) aged 45–66 years in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study. Individuals in the lowest quintile of the sport activity index of the Baecke questionnaire were categorized as low PA. Baseline BMI, waist circumference (WC), and skinfold measures were dependent variables in regression models testing the additive effect of the SNP, low PA, and their interaction, adjusting for age, alcohol use, cigarette use, educational attainment, and percent European ancestry in AA adults, stratified by sex and race/ethnicity. rs9939609 was associated with adiposity in all groups other than AA women. The SNP × PA interaction was significant in AA men (P ≤ 0.002 for all traits) and EA men (P ≤ 0.04 for all traits). For each additional copy of the A (risk) allele, WC in AA men was higher in those with low PA (β_lowPA: 5.1 cm, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.6–7.5) than high PA (β_highPA: 0.7 cm, 95% CI: ?0.4 to 1.9); P (interaction) = 0.002). The interaction effect was not observed in EA or AA women. FTO SNP × PA interactions on adiposity were observed for AA as well as EA men. Differences by sex require further examination.     

A Longitudinal Study of Sedentary Behavior and Overweight in Adolescent Girls

The aim of this study is to examine sedentary and light activity in relation to overweight in adolescent girls. Adolescent girls were randomly recruited from 36 schools participating in the Trial of Activity for Adolescent Girls (TAAG). Assessments included age, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and body composition estimated from weight, height, and triceps skinfold. Sedentary and light activity was measured for 6 days using accelerometry in 6th and in 8th grade among two randomly sampled cross‐sections of girls. Sedentary activity increased from the 6th to 8th grade by 51.5 min/day. In the 8th grade, a significantly higher number of hours in sedentary activity for each of the 6‐days of measurement were evident with higher tertiles of percent body fat (30–35%, >35% fat) (P < 0.05), but not across all increasing tertiles of BMI (5th to 85th, 85th to 95th, and >95th percentiles). The increase in sedentary activity was observed on weekdays, but not on weekends for percent body fat tertiles. In the cohort of girls measured in both 6th and 8th grades, the mean cross‐sectional coefficient estimates were significant for percent body fat, but not BMI for sedentary and light activities. Adolescent girls from the 6th to 8th grade are shifting their time from light to more sedentary activity as measured by accelerometers. In addition, the increase in sedentary activity is not associated with an adverse effect on BMI or percent body fat. The eventual impact of this shift to a more sedentary lifestyle on body composition and other outcomes needs to be evaluated further.     

Multifactorial analysis of a mixed-longitudinal sample of Indian siblings: Age and sex effects on heritability

The aim of the present study was to examine the heritability of 11 traits in a mixed-longitudinal sample of Indian siblings, and to determine whether heritability estimates vary during the growth period and whether they are influenced by sex. The sample consisted of 245 brothers and 213 sisters from 138 nuclear families living in a semi-urban area in Kolkata, India. The age ranged between 5 and 19 years. The traits were standardised for age and sex using standard deviation scores (SDS) produced by the LMS method (Cole, T.J., 1988. Fitting smoothed centile curves to reference data. J. R. Stat. Soc. A 151, 385-418). The standard deviation scores were analysed by PCA. The two factors with eigenvalues above 1 explained 77.3% of the variance; they showed a high level of pleiotropism present among the studied traits and represented body lengths (PC1) and body weight and breadths (PC2). The heritability between all types of siblings (irrespective of sex) for the PC1 and PC2 was estimated. The heritability between various pairs of siblings showed variations along the whole ontogenetic period studied. During the childhood and pre-pubertal period, heritability between brothers, brother-sister pairs and any sibling pairs was mostly constant, with small and non-significant variations. All the pairs showed the lowest degree of heritability during puberty for PC1 but not for PC2, with significant changes of heritability estimates between adolescence and adulthood, in most of the analysed sibling pairs and in both PC factors. The highest heritability was generally observed at the end of the examined growth period in all pairs. A significant effect of sex on heritability was only detected for PC2 at 11 years of age.     

Exploring biological relationships between calving traits in primiparous cattle with a Bayesian recursive model

Structural equation models (SEMs) of a recursive type with heterogeneous structural coefficients were used to explore biological relationships between gestation length (GL), calving difficulty (CD), and perinatal mortality, also known as stillbirth (SB), in cattle, with the last two traits having categorical expression. An acyclic model was assumed, where recursive effects existed from the GL phenotype to the liabilities (latent variables) to CD and SB and from the liability to CD to that of SB considering four periods regarding GL. The data contained GL, CD, and SB records from 90,393 primiparous cows, sired by 1122 bulls, distributed over 935 herd-calving year classes. Low genetic correlations between GL and the other calving traits were found, whereas the liabilities to CD and SB were high and positively correlated, genetically. The model indicated that gestations of approximately 274 days of length (3 days shorter than the average) would lead to the lowest CD and SB and confirmed the existence of an intermediate optimum of GL with respect to these traits.     

Analysis of Genotype × Environment Interaction Effects for Starch Pasting Viscosity Characteristics in Indica Rice

Milled rice (Oryza sativa L.) is composed of approximately 90% starch. The properties of starch have considerable effects on cooked rice palatability and consumer acceptability. Starch pasting viscosity parameters serve as important indices in the estimation of eating, cooking, and processing qualities of rice. In the present study, four cytoplasmic male-sterile (CMS) lines and eight restorer (R) lines have been used in an incomplete diallel cross to analyze seed effects, cytoplasmic effects, maternal gene effects, and their genotype × environment (GE) effects on the following starch pasting viscosity parameters: breakdown (BD), consistency (CS), and setback (SB). The results demonstrated that the total main genetic variances (V_G) accounted for over 64% of the total genetic variance (V_G + V_GE) for the three traits, indicating that these traits were mainly controlled by the main genetic effects in addition to the GE interaction effects. The estimated total narrow-sense heritability were 67.8%, 79.5%, and 79.5% for BD, CS, and SB, respectively. The general heritability (h²_G) accounted for over 75% of the total heritability (h²_G + h²_GE), indicating that early selection would be effective for those traits and the selection efficiencies were relatively stable in different environments.     

Genotype by environment interactions for Pinus radiata in New South Wales, Australia

Historical data from 26 progeny trials in the NSW breeding program was analyzed to determine the extent and practical importance of genotype by environment (G×E) interactions for a range of traits. Significant G×E interaction was present for diameter (DBH) with 75% of the 35 estimated between-site genetic correlations falling below the threshold value of 0.6 where regionalization should be considered. Estimated genetic correlations for stem straightness, branch quality, and outerwood density were much higher, indicating these traits are not as affected by G×E. Levels of G×E for DBH are sufficient to have serious impacts on the expression of genetic gain in deployed material. For DBH, altitude differences between sites appear to be the key factor driving the G×E with a difference of greater than 280 m in altitude leading to a breakdown in correlations. Two groups of sites were identified as having limited G×E within each group: one for sites above 900 m elevation plus a lower-altitude group. Sites included in the higher-altitude group were located across the entire north–south geographic range of NSW. Equations for prediction of site mean DBH indicate that altitude, prior land use, and underlying geology are key driving variables. A more complex model was developed for predicting the between-site genetic correlations for DBH with the model accounting for approximately 50% of the observed variation.     

Genetic and environmental analysis of dystocia and stillbirths in draft horses

Genetic parameters and environmental factors were estimated for foaling ease (FE) and stillbirths (SBs) in four breeds of draft horses based on 11 229, 38 877, 35 764 and 13 274 FE and SB scores recorded between 1998 and 2010 for Ardennais (A), Breton (B), Comtois (C) and Percheron (P), respectively. Incidences for the three FE categories were: easy or without help 91.0% (A) to 95.4% (B), difficult 3.4% (B) to 7.1% (A) and intervention of a veterinarian 1.1% (B) to 1.9% (A). The frequency of SB ranged between 5.4% (B) and 9.4% (A). A multiple-trait threshold animal model was used that included the effects of sex of foal, region, month, year of foaling, combined maternal age and parity, direct genetic, maternal genetic and permanent environments. Estimates were obtained using Markov Chain Monte Carlo Gibbs sampling. The most unfavourable effect was first parity, which decreased the probability of easy foaling to 78.6% for A and 88.3% for B. Interaction with age showed that the risk for first foaling for mares aged 3 years was higher than at 4 or 5 to 9 years. This was also observed for SB with an increased probability of SB at first foaling of 17.9% (A) or 9.6% (B). The most unfavourable month was found to be the most frequent month for foaling (April) and not the most demanding months weather-wise (winter). For FE, direct heritabilities were A 0.27 (0.06), B 0.14 (0.03), C 0.18 (0.03) and P 0.18 (0.04), and maternal heritabilities were A 0.25 (0.06), B 0.19 (0.04), C 0.12 (0.03) and P 0.21 (0.06). Genetic correlations between direct and maternal genetic effects were A −0.29 (0.14), B −0.39 (0.12), C −0.09 (0.14) and P −0.54 (0.17). For SB, direct heritabilities were A 0.52 (0.09), B 0.42 (0.04), C 0.28 (0.04) and P 0.39 (0.05), and maternal heritabilities were A 0.25 (0.05), B 0.10 (0.02), C 0.07 (0.02) and P 0.14 (0.02). Genetic correlations between direct and maternal genetic effects were A −0.85 (0.06), B −0.63 (0.06), C −0.64 (0.11) and P −0.69 (0.06). Direct genetic correlations between FE and SB traits were A 0.60 (0.10), B 0.58 (0.10), C 0.36 (0.10) and P 0.29 (0.15). Maternal genetic correlations between FE and SB traits were A 0.67 (0.10), B 0.47 (0.13), C 0.28 (0.15) and P 0.39 (0.15). These estimates are posterior means of the Gibbs samples and are within the upper limits of comparable results reported in cattle.