Principles of Genetics and Animal Breeding

Description

Although animal breeding was practiced long before the science of genetics and the relevant disciplines of population and quantitative genetics were known, breeding programs have mainly relied on simply selecting and mating the best individuals on their own or relatives’ performance. Animal breeding, genetics, and genomics is the branch of science concerned with maximizing desirable genetic traits, such as producing animals that have leaner meat. Animal geneticists have identified elements within genes that can enhance animal growth, health, and ability to utilize nutrients. In animal breeding, a population is a group of interbreeding individuals-i.e., a breed or strain within a breed that is different in some aspects from other breeds or strains. Typically, certain animals within a breed are designated as purebred. The subject matter has been dealt with in a logical sequence so that the reader is conveyed from simple to more complex interpretation with relative ease. It is felt that the reader which are likely to comprise mostly of graduate and post graduate student of animal breeding and researcher will be able to get a deeper insight and better perceptions into the realm of the dynamic science of animal breeding. This book attempts to describe applied breeding methods for different domestic animal species as currently implemented.