Long-term restricted index selection in mice designed to change fat content without changing body size.

The objective of this study was to determine if low secondary selection differentials, caused by selecting within full-sib families, may have accounted for the failure of an intended restricted selection index to reduce epididymal fat pad weight (EF) without changing body weight (BW) in mice. Replicate lines that had been selected within full-sib families for high (HE) or low (LE) EF, while holding BW constant, were crossed. After two generations of random mating, two replicates were sampled and selection initiated for the same restricted index criteria except that mass selection was used to increase the selection differentials. In both phases of selection the HE restricted index selection, designed to increase EF without altering BW, was in agreement with expectation. In contrast, the LE index, designed to decrease EF without changing BW, did not agree with theory since BW increased while EF decreased only slightly. Therefore, reduced selection differentials could not explain the deviation from theory. A possible explanation may reside in the restricted selection index being more sensitive to changes in genetic parameters due to shifts in gene frequency as a consequence of the selection applied. However, linkage disequilibrium and genetic drift can not be ruled out as contributing factors to the asymmetry of response.