Animal breeding is a branch of
animal science
Animal science is described as "studying the biology of animals that are under the control of humankind". It can also be described as the production and management of farm animals. Historically, the degree was called animal husbandry and the ...
that addresses the evaluation (using
best linear unbiased prediction and other methods) of the genetic value (estimated breeding value, EBV) of livestock. Selecting for breeding animals with superior EBV in growth rate, egg, meat, milk, or wool production, or with other desirable traits has revolutionized livestock production throughout the entire world. The scientific theory of animal breeding incorporates
population genetics
Population genetics is a subfield of genetics that deals with genetic differences within and between populations, and is a part of evolutionary biology. Studies in this branch of biology examine such phenomena as adaptation, speciation, and po ...
,
quantitative genetics
Quantitative genetics deals with phenotypes that vary continuously (such as height or mass)—as opposed to discretely identifiable phenotypes and gene-products (such as eye-colour, or the presence of a particular biochemical).
Both branches u ...
,
statistics
Statistics (from German: '' Statistik'', "description of a state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data. In applying statistics to a scientific, indust ...
, and recently
molecular genetics
Molecular genetics is a sub-field of biology that addresses how differences in the structures or expression of DNA molecules manifests as variation among organisms. Molecular genetics often applies an "investigative approach" to determine the ...
and is based on the pioneering work of
Sewall Wright
Sewall Green Wright FRS(For) Honorary FRSE (December 21, 1889March 3, 1988) was an American geneticist known for his influential work on evolutionary theory and also for his work on path analysis. He was a founder of population genetics alongsi ...
,
Jay Lush, and
Charles Henderson.
Breeding stock
Breeding stock is a group of animals used for the purpose of planned breeding. When individuals are looking to breed animals, they look for certain valuable traits in
purebred
Purebreds are " cultivated varieties" of an animal species achieved through the process of selective breeding. When the lineage of a purebred animal is recorded, that animal is said to be "pedigreed". Purebreds breed true-to-type which means the ...
animals, or may intend to use some type of
crossbreeding
A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. ''Crossbreeding'', sometimes called "designer crossbreeding", is the process of breeding such an organism, While crossbreeding is used to main ...
to produce a new type of stock with different, and presumably super abilities in a given area of endeavor. For example, when breeding swine for meat, the "breeding stock should be sound, fast growing, muscular, lean, and reproductively efficient." The "subjective selection of breeding stock" in horses has led to many
horse breeds
This article is a list of horse and pony breeds with articles on Wikipedia, and also includes terms for types of horse that are not necessarily standardized breeds but are often labeled as breeds. While there is no scientifically accepted defin ...
with particular performance traits. While breeding animals is common in an
agricultural setting, it is also a common practice for the purpose of selling animals meant as
pet
A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive appearances, intelligence ...
s, such as
cats
The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members o ...
,
dogs
The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. ...
,
horses
The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million ...
, and
birds
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
, as well as less common animals, such as
reptile
Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates ( lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalia ...
s or some
primates
Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians ( monkeys and apes, the latter including ...
.
Purebred breeding
Mating animals of the same breed for maintaining such breed is referred to as purebred breeding. Opposite to the practice of mating animals of different breeds, purebred breeding aims to establish and maintain stable traits, that animals will pass to the next generation. By "breeding the best to the best", employing a certain degree of
inbreeding
Inbreeding is the production of offspring from the mating or breeding of individuals or organisms that are closely related genetically. By analogy, the term is used in human reproduction, but more commonly refers to the genetic disorders a ...
, considerable
culling
In biology, culling is the process of segregating organisms from a group according to desired or undesired characteristics. In animal breeding, it is the process of removing or segregating animals from a breeding stock based on a specific tr ...
, and selection for "superior" qualities, one could develop a bloodline or "
breed
A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...
" superior in certain respects to the original base stock.
Such animals can be recorded with a
breed registry
A breed registry, also known as a herdbook, studbook or register, in animal husbandry and the hobby of animal fancy, is an official list of animals within a specific breed whose parents are known. Animals are usually registered by their breeder ...
, the organisation that maintains
pedigree
Pedigree may refer to:
Breeding
* Pedigree chart, a document to record ancestry, used by genealogists in study of human family lines, and in selective breeding of other animals
** Pedigree, a human genealogy (ancestry chart)
** Pedigree (anim ...
s and/or
stud books.
The observable phenomenon of
hybrid vigor
Heterosis, hybrid vigor, or outbreeding enhancement is the improved or increased function of any biological quality in a hybrid offspring. An offspring is heterotic if its traits are enhanced as a result of mixing the genetic contributions of ...
stands in contrast to the notion of breed purity.
For laboratory purposes, organisms such as mice have been inbred to 100% pure lines, as offered for sale by the
Jackson laboratory
The Jackson Laboratory (often abbreviated as JAX) is an independent, non-profit biomedical research institution which was founded by a eugenicist. It employs more than 3,000 employees in Bar Harbor, Maine; Sacramento, California; Farmington, ...
. But this is highly unusual and difficult to do for most organisms, in whose populations all individuals harbor recessive, deleterious gene variants (alleles).
Backyard breeding
In the United States, a backyard breeder is someone who breeds animals, often without registration and with a focus on profit. In some cases, the animals are inbred narrowly for looks, with little regard to health. The term is considered derogatory. If a backyard
dog breeder has a significant number of breeding animals, they become associated with
puppy mills. Most puppy mills are licensed with the USDA.
Rescue groups paint a sad story of Iowa's puppy mills
The Messenger.
See also
*Animal husbandry
Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock. Husbandry has a long history, starti ...
Plant and animal breeding
* Artificial insemination of livestock and pets
* Artificial selection
Selective breeding (also called artificial selection) is the process by which humans use animal breeding and plant breeding to selectively develop particular phenotypic traits (characteristics) by choosing which typically animal or plant ma ...
* Agricultural science
Agricultural science (or agriscience for short) is a broad multidisciplinary field of biology that encompasses the parts of exact, natural, economic and social sciences that are used in the practice and understanding of agriculture. Profession ...
* Backyard breeder
A backyard breeder is an amateur animal breeder whose breeding is considered substandard, with little or misguided effort towards ethical, selective breeding. Unlike puppy mills and other animal mill operations, backyard breeders breed on a sma ...
* Genomics of domestication
Domesticated species and the human populations that domesticate them are typified by a mutualistic relationship of interdependence, in which humans have over thousands of years modified the genomics of domesticated species. Genomics is the study o ...
* Plant breeding
Plant breeding is the science of changing the traits of plants in order to produce desired characteristics. It has been used to improve the quality of nutrition in products for humans and animals. The goals of plant breeding are to produce cr ...
* Progeny testing
Progeny Testing is a test of the value for selective breeding of an individual's genotype by looking at the progeny produced by different matings.
Progeny Testing
It is used in the breeding of both plants and animals, but is most commercially i ...
* Selective breeding
Selective breeding (also called artificial selection) is the process by which humans use animal breeding and plant breeding to selectively develop particular phenotypic traits (characteristics) by choosing which typically animal or plant ...
People
* Robert Bakewell
* Arthur B. Chapman
* James Hutton
James Hutton (; 3 June O.S.172614 June 1726 New Style. – 26 March 1797) was a Scottish geologist, agriculturalist, chemical manufacturer, naturalist and physician. Often referred to as the father of modern geology, he played a key role ...
* Thomas Lecky
Thomas Phillip Lecky, known as T.P. Lecky (1904-1994), was a Jamaican scientist who developed several new breeds of cattle. Lecky is known as one of Jamaica's earliest environmentalists, and a strong advocate for conservation of hillsides. His rese ...
Other topics
* BLUPF90 and ASReml ASReml is a statistical software package for fitting linear mixed models using restricted maximum likelihood, a technique commonly used in plant
Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the ...
: software packages for animal breeding statistics
* Veterinary medicine
Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in animals. Along with this, it deals with animal rearing, husbandry, breeding, research on nutri ...
** Veterinary surgeon
Veterinary surgery is surgery performed on animals by veterinarians, whereby the procedures fall into three broad categories: orthopaedics (bones, joints, muscles), soft tissue surgery (skin, body cavities, cardiovascular system, GI/urogenital/ ...
** Veterinarian
A veterinarian (vet), also known as a veterinary surgeon or veterinary physician, is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, vet ...
Further reading
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* FAO. (2007)
The Global Plan of Action for Animal Genetic Resources and the Interlaken
Rome.
*FAO. (2010)
ttp://www.fao.org/docrep/012/i1103e/i1103e00.htm FAO Animal Production and Health Guidelines.No. 3. Rome.
*FAO. (2015)
The Second Report on the State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for
Food and Agriculture.
Rome.
References
External links
Domestic Animal Diversity Information System
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{{Authority control
Livestock