More Genotypes than Markers: The SS-T-BLUP Model in Action: An Application Study in Multi-Trait Australian Angus BREEDPLAN Genetic Evaluation

Multi-trait single step genetic evaluation is increasingly facing the situation of having more individuals with genotypes than an individuals’ genotype has markers. This leads to an algebraically impossible inversion of the genomic relationship matrix (G). Recent derivations in single step equations called SS-T-BLUP have provided an elegant way to circumvent the inversion of the G and therefore accommodate the described situation. In this paper we examine the applicability of the SST-BLUP model to the multi-trait Australian Angus BREEDPLAN genetic evaluation and compare the results to applying two different ways of using G in a single step model. Results clearly show that SS-T-BLUP outperforms other single step formulations and allows users to avoid approximating the inverse of G.