No âmbito do Concurso Bolsas de Doutoramento 2023 - Linha de Candidatura Específica em Ambiente Não Académico, da FCT, a bolsa para o projecto "Genetic selection for morpho-functional traits in the Lusitano horse" da aluna Margarida Pais Mateus foi recomendada para financiamento, num total de 332 bolsas de investigação para doutoramento. Esta bolsa e respetivo plano de trabalhos, a desenvolver sob a orientação do Investigador do INIAV, Nuno Carolino, contam com o apoio da APSL, enquanto instituição de acolhimento não académica, do INIAV, do CIISA e do IP Santarém

Genetic selection for morpho-functional traits in the Lusitano horse
Objectives

The main objective of this work is to contribute to the optimization of the Lusitano horse breed improvement program through the evaluation of alternative breed selection strategies taking into account the maintenance of genetic variability.

To achieve this goal, there are other specific objectives that need to be achieved:

• Evaluate the structure, evolution and dynamics of genetic variability of the Lusitano population over the years;
• Estimate the genetic and environmental parameters for the morphology, gaits, functional and linear traits in Lusitano horses;
• Analyze the effects of inbreeding on principal traits; Dissecting genetic trends to understand breeding practices;
• Explore the possibility of using single-step GBLUP methodology for the genetic evaluation of the Lusitano horse breed;
• Implement Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to Identification and Functional Annotation of Genes Related to Lusitano horse Performance;
• Assess the impact of the genomic information on the accuracy of the prediction of the genetic merit of the animals in different ages.