Animal Traits Correlation Database (CorrDB)

QTLdb and CorrDB functionality may be coming to an end

The QTLdb and CorrDB are no longer actively funded. This means that in the near future, these data and associated tools will no longer be actively updated unless additional funding sources are identified. QTLdb and CorrDB have been actively funded by grants for more than 20 and 10 years respectively. We will continue to search for alternative funding sources and will provide additional updates when these resources may have to move to a static state.

Release 25
(Aug 26, 2025)

Animal Trait Correlation Database

Genetic and phenotypic trait correlation studies have been conducted for decades since Hazel proposed the methods in 1943. A genetic correlation is the proportion of shared variance between two traits that is due to genetic causes; a phenotypic correlation is the degree to which two traits co-vary among individuals in a population. In the genomics era, while gene expression, genetic association, and network analysis provide unprecedented means to decode the genetic basis of complex phenotypes, it is important to recognize the possible effects genetic progress in one trait can have on other traits. This database is designed to collect all published livestock genetic/phenotypic trait correlation data, aimed at facilitating genetic network analysis or systems biology studies.

As of the current Release, a total of 46,562 correlation data on 967 base traits and 433 trait variants; 7,871 heritability data on 1,190 base traits and 418 trait variants, in 6 livestock animal species have been curated from 800 publications. Since the last data release, we have additional 1,502 newly curated correlations and 252 heribility data in 7 species, to be released soon.

Cattle

Chicken

Goat

Horse

Pig

Sheep

Release 25: Curated Data
Species	Correlations		Heritability
Species	Count	Traits	Count	Traits
Cattle	17,220	370	3,036	428
Chicken	5,449	113	861	171
Goat	4,003	90	523	85
Horse	224	30	142	57
Pig	13,045	240	2,099	287
Sheep	6,621	124	1,210	162
Sum	46,562	967	7,871	1,190

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Correlation by unique trait pairs by species
	Cattle	Chicken	Goat	Horse	Pig	Sheep	SUM
Environment	282 (709)	79 (395)	5 (25)	1 (2)	26 (217)	50 (196)	443 (1,544)
Genetic	3,385 (9,023)	587 (2,299)	510 (1,754)	80 (120)	2,020 (7,035)	850 (3,217)	7,432 (23,448)
Phenotypic	3,648 (6,968)	715 (2,755)	742 (2,157)	56 (87)	1,962 (5,602)	803 (2,985)	7,926 (20,554)
Residual	359 (520)		10 (67)	12 (15)	39 (191)	32 (223)	452 (1,016)
SUM	7,674 (17,220)	1,381 (5,449)	1,267 (4,003)	149 (224)	4,047 (13,045)	1,735 (6,621)	16,253 (46,562)
Note: Bold numbers represent counts of correlation trait pairs; In parenthesis are counts of multiple correlations reported.

Heritability data reported by species

Pig

# Reports	Cattle Traits
155	Milk yield
136	Body weight
90	Subcutaneous fat thickness
64	Longissimus muscle area
61	Milk fat yield
60	Average daily gain
58	Milk protein yield
51	Somatic cell score
48	Marbling score
46	Milk protein percentage
46	Milk fat percentage
44	Carcass weight
40	Scrotal circumference
37	Dry matter intake
36	Body height
34	Residual feed intake
32	Calving to conception interval
29	Calving interval
28	Shear force
28	Clinical mastitis
27	Age at first calving
27	Interval to first estrus after calving
23	Intramuscular fat
21	Metabolic body weight
20	Interval from first to last insemination
20	Inseminations per conception
20	Teat placement
18	Sperm motility
18	Body condition score
18	Gestation length
17	Rump width
17	Body circumference
17	Udder depth
17	Udder cleft
16	Muscularity
16	Udder attachment
15	Milk lactose content
15	Milk lactose yield
15	Stature
15	Dressing percentage
14	M. paratuberculosis susceptibility
14	Conception rate
14	Yield grade
14	Body depth
14	Non-return rate
14	Udder height
14	Conformation score
13	Semen volume
13	Meat color
13	Milk palmitic acid content
13	Milk myristic acid content
13	Milk oleic acid content
13	Milk stearic acid content
12	Milk capric acid content
12	Milk lauric acid content
12	Feet and leg conformation
12	Milk saturated fatty acid content

# Reports	Chicken Traits
148	Body weight
63	Egg weight
59	Egg number
23	Shank length
21	Meat color
19	Abdominal fat percentage
17	Age at first egg
17	Abdominal fat weight
15	Eggshell strength
15	Feed intake
14	Residual feed intake
14	Muscle pH
14	Carcass weight
12	Shank circumference
12	Average daily gain
12	Feed conversion ratio
12	Breast muscle percentage
10	Gizzard weight
10	Body weight gain
10	Eggshell shape
10	Liver weight
9	Eggshell thickness
8	Albumen height
8	Heart weight
8	Breast muscle weight
6	Egg production rate
6	Drip loss
6	Ascites syndrome incidence
6	Eggshell color
5	Metabolic body weight
5	White striping
4	Age at sexual maturity
4	Wooden breast
4	Comb height
4	Drumstick weight
4	Triglyceride level
4	Blood globulin level
4	Keel length
4	Eggshell stiffness
4	Sudden death syndrome susceptibility
4	Blood bile acid level
4	Proventriculus weight
4	Intramuscular fat percentage
4	Haugh units
4	Blood albumin to globulin ratio
4	Blood uric acid level
4	Drumstick and thigh percentage
3	Blood alanine transaminase level
3	Blood aspartate transaminase level
3	Yolk number
3	HDL/LDL ratio
3	LDL cholesterol level
3	Chest width
3	Blood creatinine level
3	Blood gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase level
3	AST to ALT ratio
3	Feathering

# Reports	Goat Traits
78	Body weight
35	Milk yield
32	Average daily gain
26	Kleiber ratio
25	Kidding interval
20	Age at first kidding
15	Milk protein yield
15	Milk fat yield
14	Body height
14	Somatic cell score
13	Body circumference
13	Body length
10	Milk fat percentage
10	Milk protein percentage
9	Offspring number
7	Udder attachment
7	Milk protein-to-fat ratio
6	Fecal egg count
5	Milk protein content
5	Hematocrit
5	Litter weight, total
5	Teat placement
5	Milk fat content
4	Milk conjugated linoleic acid content
4	Milk octadecenoic acid content
4	Sperm motility
4	Milk monounsaturated fatty acid content
4	Milk capric acid content
4	Milk butyric acid content
4	Milk lauric acid content
4	Medial suspensory ligament
4	Milk omega-6 fatty acid content
4	Milk unsaturated fatty acid content
4	Milk polyunsaturated fatty acid content
4	Milk saturated fatty acid content
4	Milk sum of C13:0 to C17:0 fatty acid content
4	Milk palmitic acid content
4	Milk myristic acid content
4	Milk caprylic acid content
4	Milk sum of C4:0 to C10:0 fatty acid content
4	Milk caproic acid content
4	Milk omega-3 fatty acid content
4	Milk stearic acid content
3	Marbling score
3	Teat diameter
3	Milk solids yield
3	Milk lactose yield
3	Udder depth
3	Body condition score
3	Teat angle
3	Teat shape
3	Rear udder height
2	Somatic cell count
2	Lactation persistency
2	Lactation length
2	Teat length
2	Teat number

# Reports	Horse Traits
12	Insect bite hypersensitivity
12	Recurrent exertional rhabdomyolysis
8	Tendon injury
8	Recurrent uveitis
7	Bone fracture
6	Body height
6	Strongyle fecal egg count
4	Suspensory ligament injury
4	Vitiligo
4	Osteoarthritis
3	Strongyle infection
3	twinning
3	Sperm progressive motility
2	Sperm count
2	Hematocrit
2	Epistaxis
2	Skinfold thickness
2	Walk score
2	Hair shaft diameter
2	Hoof conformation
2	Semen volume
2	Lymphocyte number
2	Sperm concentration
2	Body condition score
2	Neutrophil number
2	Conformation score
2	chronic progressive lymphedema
2	Trot score
2	Equine sarcoids
2	Gestation length
2	Leg conformation
1	racing performance
1	Leptin level
1	Plasma protein level
1	Blood lactate level
1	Aspartate aminotransferase activity
1	Blood glucose level
1	Hemoglobin
1	Eosinophil number
1	Blood creatinine level
1	ACTH level
1	Red blood cell number
1	Racing speed
1	Creatine kinase level
1	Insulin level
1	White blood cell number
1	Triglyceride level
1	Blood adiponectin level
1	Chest circumference
1	Cannon bone circumference
1	Uric acid level
1	Number of progressively motile sperm
1	Blood non-esterified fatty acid level
1	hereditary equine regional dermal asthenia
1	Recurrent laryngeal neuropathy
1	Equine neuroaxonal dystrophy/degenerative myeloencephalopathy
1	Lactate dehydrogenase level

# Reports	Pig Traits
329	Offspring number
110	Meat color
101	Subcutaneous fat thickness
81	Average daily gain
38	Muscle pH
32	Body weight
32	Teat number
31	Litter weight, total
29	Feed intake
27	Longissimus muscle area
25	Feed conversion ratio
21	Semen volume
21	Longissimus muscle depth
21	Sperm concentration
20	Sperm abnormality rate
19	Linoleic acid content
19	Oleic acid content
19	Palmitic acid content
19	Stearic acid content
18	Sperm motility
18	Sperm progressive motility
18	Body circumference
18	Palmitoleic acid content
17	Days to 100 kg
17	Time spent in feeder
17	Intramuscular fat content
17	Residual feed intake
17	Myristic acid content
17	Lean meat percentage
16	Polyunsaturated fatty acid content
16	Saturated fatty acid content
16	Monounsaturated fatty acid content
16	Carcass weight
13	Body length
13	Carcass length
12	Sperm per ejaculate
12	Drip loss
12	Linolenic acid content
12	Body height
10	Cannon bone circumference
10	Eicosadienoic acid content
10	Arachidonic acid content
10	Arachidic acid content
9	Cooking loss
9	Number of functional sperm
9	Number of visits to feeder
9	cis-11-Eicosenoic acid content
9	Water holding capacity
9	Marbling
8	Omega-6 fatty acid content
8	Shear force
8	Days to 105 kg
8	Omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratio
8	Average feeding rate
8	Dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid content
8	Omega-3 fatty acid content
8	Age at first farrowing

# Reports	Sheep Traits
319	Body weight
104	Average daily gain
75	Offspring number
50	Greasy fleece weight
42	Staple length
39	Kleiber ratio
38	Fecal egg count
26	Fleece grade
18	Residual feed intake
17	Milk yield
17	Mean fiber diameter
17	Feed conversion ratio
16	Subcutaneous fat thickness
14	Somatic cell score
14	Body condition score
14	Body height
10	Gastrointestinal nematode resistance
10	Ocular mucosa coloration
10	Longissimus muscle depth
9	Body length
9	Meat color
9	Milk protein percentage
9	Sperm motility
9	Perineal fecal accumulation
8	Body circumference
8	Shear force
8	Milk protein yield
8	Milk fat percentage
8	Milk fat yield
7	Sperm concentration
7	Litter weight, total
7	Growth efficiency
7	Fiber diameter coefficient of variance
7	Semen volume
7	Relative growth rate
7	Hematocrit
7	Clean fleece weight
7	Scrotal circumference
6	Body depth
6	Longissimus muscle area
6	Fleece yield
5	udder attachment
5	Teat placement
5	Teat size
5	udder depth
4	Milk protein content
4	Fiber curvature
4	Fiber diameter standard deviation
4	Milk fat content
4	Tick count
4	somatic cell count
4	Dressing percentage
4	Staple strength
4	Feed intake
3	Cheese yield
3	Lameness
3	Lambing interval

New Data: If you found correlation data that has not been included in the current release, please either (1) register for a curator account to directly input them (see "Database Curators / Editors" below), or (2) inform our Bioinformatics Team so that we can include your data for curation.

Database Curators / Editors: The CorrDB is open to the public for data entry and update. By having a curator account on the CorrDB, you will be granted privileges to input and edit the database entries.

Questions and Answers: Frequently asked questions and answers to address the questions raised with regard to the design, usage, application, utilities, new developments, and other related issues in the development of CorrDB.

Data downloads:

( Release 25 )

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‣ plain text
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Correlation data: Cattle

Correlation data: Chicken

Correlation data: Goat

Correlation data: Horse

Correlation data: Pig

Correlation data: Sheep

Heritability data: Cattle

Heritability data: Chicken

Heritability data: Goat

Heritability data: Horse

Heritability data: Pig

Heritability data: Sheep

REFERENCE:

Zhi-Liang Hu, Carissa A. Park, and James M. Reecy (2022). Bringing the Animal QTLdb and CorrDB into the future: meeting new challenges and providing updated services. Nucleic Acids Research, Volume 50, Issue D1, Pages D956–D961. DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkab1116

Zhi-Liang Hu, Carissa A. Park, and James M. Reecy (2020). An Update on Database Growth and Improvements of Animal QTLdb and CorrDB. Plant & Animal Genomes XXVII Conference, January 11-15, 2020. Town & Country Convention Center, San Diego, CA. (January 11-15, 2020).

Zhi-Liang Hu, Carissa A. Park, and James M. Reecy (2019). Building a livestock genetic and genomic information knowledgebase through integrative developments of Animal QTLdb and CorrDB. Nucleic Acids Research, Volume 47, Issue D1, 8 January 2019, Pages D701–D710. DOI: 10.1093/nar/gky1084

Zhi-Liang Hu, Carissa A. Park, and James M. Reecy (2018). Development of Animal QTLdb and CorrDB: Resynthesizing Big Data to Improve Meta-analysis of Genetic and Genomic Information. The 11th World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production (WCGALP). New Zealand, February 11-16, 2018.

Zhi-Liang Hu, Carissa A. Park, and James M. Reecy (2018). Animal QTLdb and CorrDB updates: integrative development of genetics/genomics databases and tools to meet new challenges. Plant & Animal Genomes XXVI Conference, January 13-17, 2018. Town & Country Convention Center, San Diego, CA.

Zhi-Liang Hu, Dinesh Kumar, and James Reecy. (2013). CorrDB: A livestock animal genetic/phenotypic trait correlation database. Plant & Animal Genomes XX Conference, January 11-16, 2013. Town & Country Convention Center, San Diego, CA.|/icons/links/PAG_logo.png|2

Related resources:

· VT | LPT | LBO | CMO ·

· MIQAS ·

· MIBBI ·

· MI ·

· QTLdb ·