Molecular and Quantitative Animal Genetics

Animal genetics is a foundational discipline in the fields of animal science, animal breeding, and veterinary sciences. While genetics underpins the healthy development and breeding of all living organisms, this is especially true in domestic animals, specifically with respect to breeding for key traits.

Molecular and Quantitative Animal Genetics is a new textbook that takes an innovative approach, looking at both quantitative and molecular breeding approaches. The bookprovides a comprehensive introduction to genetic principles and their applications in animal breeding. This text provides a useful overview for those new to the field of animal genetics and breeding, covering a diverse array of topics ranging from population and quantitative genetics to epigenetics and biotechnology. Molecular and Quantitative Animal Genetics will be an important and invaluable educational resource for undergraduate and graduate students and animal agriculture professionals.

Divided into six sections pairing fundamental principles with useful applications, the book's comprehensive coverage will make it an ideal fit for students studying animal breeding and genetics at any level.

Auteur

Hasan Khatib is an Associate Professor in the Department of Dairy Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Khatib has taught a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses on animal breeding and genetics. He is also the lead editor of Livestock Epigenetics published by Wiley in 2012.

Contenu
Contributors ix

Manuscript reviewers xi

Preface xiii

**1 Decoding and Encoding the DNA of Teaching and Learning in College Classrooms 1
**Michel A. Wattiaux

Introduction 1

Teaching and learning: definitions 1

Understanding learning 2

Understanding teaching 5

Implications for classroom design in the twenty-first century 6

Final thoughts 9

References 10

Review questions 11

Section 1: Quantitative and Population Genetics 13

**2 Mating Systems: Inbreeding and Inbreeding Depression 15
**David L. Thomas

Introduction 15

Inbreeding 15

Cause of inbreeding depression 18

Quantifying inbreeding 20

Genomics and inbreeding 23

Summary 23

Further reading 24

References 24

Review questions 24

**3 Genomic Selection Inbreeding and Crossbreeding in Dairy Cattle 25
**Kent Weigel

Introduction 25

Genomic selection 25

Crossbreeding 28

Inbreeding and genetic defects 29

Summary 30

References 30

Review questions 31

**4 Basic Genetic Model for Quantitative Traits 33
**Guilherme J. M. Rosa

Introduction 33

Quantitative traits 33

Expected value and variance: the normal distribution 33

Basic genetic model for quantitative traits 35

Heritability and selection 35

Predicting rate of genetic change from selection 36

Further reading 37

References 37

**5 Heritability and Repeatability 39
**Guilherme J. M. Rosa

Introduction 39

Heritability 39

Estimation of heritability and variance components 40

Prediction of breeding values and of response to selection 41

Repeatability 41

References 42

**6 Applications of Statistics in Quantitative Traits 43
**Hayrettin Okut

Population and sample 43

Descriptive statistics 43

Graphically examining the distribution of the data 47

Normal distribution 49

Exploring relationships between variables 53

Summary 59

Appendix 6.1 62

Further reading 62

References 62

Review questions 63

Section 2: Applications of Genetics and Genomics to Livestock and Companion Animal Species 65

**7 Genetic Improvement of Beef Cattle 67
**Michael D. MacNeil

Introduction 67

Single trait selection 67

National cattle evaluation 69

Multiple trait selection 71

Summary 71

Further reading 71

References 72

**8 Genetic Improvement in Sheep through Selection 73
**David L. Thomas

Products from sheep 73

Selection among breeds 73

Selection within a breed or population and the Key Equation 73

Adjustment for environmental effects 73

Phenotypic selection 75

Estimated breeding values (EBV) 75

Using multiple sources of information 76

Genetic correlations 76

Selection intensity 78

Generation interval (L) 79

Predicting progress from selection 79

National genetic improvement programs 80

Summary 81

Further reading 82

References 82

Review questions 82

**9 Genetic Improvement Programs for Dairy Cattle 85
**Kent Weigel

Introduction 85

Data collection infrastructure 85

Estimation of breeding values 87

Selection for increased productivity 89 Selection for functio...