Influence of the inbreeding coefficient on birth weight and weaning weight in llamas (Lama glama)

Abstract

Consanguinity, as a mating system, leads to inbreeding depression, the decrease in productive, reproductive and health aptitudes, a problem not well elucidated in Domestic South American Camelids. The purpose of the study was to determine the individual inbreeding coefficient and its influence on birth weight and weaning weight in llamas from the La Raya Research and Production Center of the National University of the Altiplano, Puno. For this purpose, the population of llamas born in the campaigns from 1984 to 2019, of the Ch'aku and K'ara varieties, was taken into account. The determination of the consanguinity coefficients was developed using the Statistic Analysis System (SAS) and the Pedigree Viewer computer programs. The influence of the inbreeding coefficient on the weights was determined by simple linear regression. It was determined that a large part of the llamas, of both varieties, are not consanguineous (p = 0.0000), 40.13 and 34.00 % for the K'ara and Ch'aku varieties, respectively. In K'ara llamas, 55.77% have a low consanguinity coefficient, between 0.0015 and 0.2500, and 58.04% in those of the Ch'aku variety have it between 0.0156 and 0.2500. There is a relatively high number of individuals whose individual consanguinity is 0.2500 of: 29.62 and 53.56 % for Kara and Ch'aku, respectively; a small number of llamas, 4.10 and 7.96 % for K'ara and Ch'aku, report inbreeding coefficients of 0.5000. The values of the inbreeding coefficients do not influence the birth weight or the weaning weight in llamas of the K'ara and Ch'aku varieties, due to the low levels of inbreeding.