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Questions and Answers
What is the main goal of animal breeding?
What is the main goal of animal breeding?
Which factor does NOT affect the success of survival and reproduction in animals?
Which factor does NOT affect the success of survival and reproduction in animals?
What aspect of genetics is crucial in animal breeding?
What aspect of genetics is crucial in animal breeding?
Which of the following is NOT typically a trait that breeders aim to improve?
Which of the following is NOT typically a trait that breeders aim to improve?
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What historical concept relates to animal breeding?
What historical concept relates to animal breeding?
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What is essential in identifying the best breeding pairs?
What is essential in identifying the best breeding pairs?
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Which breeding system is most focused on improving specific traits through selection?
Which breeding system is most focused on improving specific traits through selection?
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How does animal breeding aim to handle diseases?
How does animal breeding aim to handle diseases?
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What role did the environment play in animal selection according to Darwin?
What role did the environment play in animal selection according to Darwin?
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Which technique was introduced by C.R. Henderson for estimating breeding values?
Which technique was introduced by C.R. Henderson for estimating breeding values?
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What is the primary aim of animal breeding?
What is the primary aim of animal breeding?
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How are breeds of domesticated animals typically categorized?
How are breeds of domesticated animals typically categorized?
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What does heritability estimates indicate in animal breeding?
What does heritability estimates indicate in animal breeding?
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What is represented by a heritability estimate close to 0?
What is represented by a heritability estimate close to 0?
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Who is known as the father of modern breeding?
Who is known as the father of modern breeding?
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What are meat quality traits evaluated in modern animal breeding?
What are meat quality traits evaluated in modern animal breeding?
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What is the primary focus of the tandem method of selection?
What is the primary focus of the tandem method of selection?
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Which breeding method involves mating individuals from different breeds to combine desirable traits?
Which breeding method involves mating individuals from different breeds to combine desirable traits?
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What defines the independent culling method in the selection process?
What defines the independent culling method in the selection process?
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Which of the following methods aims to gradually improve the quality of non-purebred animals?
Which of the following methods aims to gradually improve the quality of non-purebred animals?
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Inbreeding primarily increases what genetic characteristic within a breed?
Inbreeding primarily increases what genetic characteristic within a breed?
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Which system of breeding involves mating closely related animals with the aim of enhancing specific traits?
Which system of breeding involves mating closely related animals with the aim of enhancing specific traits?
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What is a characteristic of the selection index method in breeding?
What is a characteristic of the selection index method in breeding?
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Which of the following best describes qualitative traits?
Which of the following best describes qualitative traits?
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Study Notes
Basic Principles of Animal Breeding
- Animal breeding is the process of selecting and mating animals to produce offspring with specific traits.
- Key principles include understanding genetics and using selection methods.
- Breeders aim to improve traits like growth rate, milk production, and disease resistance.
Course Objectives
- Understand the basic principles of animal breeding.
- Learn about selection methods, the history of animal breeding and basic terminologies.
- Familiarize yourself with breeding systems for farm animals.
Flow of Discussion
- Overview of animal breeding
- Trends in animal breeding
- History of animal breeding
- Animal breeding terminology
- Methods of selection
- Systems of breeding
Overview
- Animal breeding involves selecting and mating animals to achieve desired traits in their offspring.
- Understanding genetics, how traits are passed down, is crucial.
- Selection methods are used to choose the best animals based on visible characteristics.
History of Animal Breeding
- Animal survival and reproduction are influenced by factors like climate, season, nutrition, and disease.
- Natural and artificial selection play a role in the concept of survival.
- Animal breeding is the application of genetic principles to identify the best breeding pairs.
- Early animal breeding was largely focused on environmental factors but has evolved to incorporate genetic information.
- Charles Darwin's work emphasized environmental influence on selection trends.
- Modern breeding uses quantitative genetics and genetic information to improve animal performance (Jay Lush).
- Modern selection methods include sensory evaluation and chemical composition analysis of meat quality, in addition to standard traits.
- Statistical techniques like BLUP (Best Linear Unbiased Prediction) are used to evaluate breeding values.
Definition of Terms
- Animal breeding aims to reproduce high-producing animals, and eliminate those with physical abnormalities.
- A breed is a group of animals within a species with uniform physical characteristics (coat color, presence of horns, body conformation, etc), sharing a similar ancestry.
- Breeds are often grouped based on their use. (meat, egg, dairy, sport, dual purpose)
Heritability Estimates
- To achieve breeding goals, the traits of interest must be heritable.
- Heritability estimates the degree of resemblance between parents and their offspring.
- Estimates range from 0-1, with 0 implying traits are lowly heritable and 1 implying traits are highly heritable.
Selection for Quantitative Traits
- Phenotypic traits can be qualitative (description of physical characteristics) or quantitative (measurable characteristics like weight and height).
- Quantitative traits are economically important traits.
- Selection is the process of choosing animals as breeders to produce the next generation of desirable animals.
Methods of Selection
- Tandem Method: focuses improvement on one trait at a time.
- Independent Culling Method: Evaluates potential breeders on a set of criteria and culls those that fail to meet one or more criteria.
- Selection Index Method: Considers all traits and gives each a merit score, based on evaluating their importance for desirable traits in animal offspring.
Systems of Breeding
- Purebreeding: Crossing pure-bred animals of the same breed that are not closely related.
- Crossbreeding: Involves mating animals from two different breeds to achieve desirable traits in offspring (Two-way cross, three-way cross, four-way cross)
- Inbreeding: Mating closely related animals to increase homozygosity
- Linebreeding: Mating distantly related animals
- Upgrading: Gradually improving the quality of animals by mating with a superior breed (e.g., using purebred animals to improve non-purebred animals to a standard)
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Description
Explore the fundamental concepts of animal breeding, including genetics, selection methods, and breeding systems. This quiz will help you understand how traits are improved in farm animals through careful selection and mating practices.
