An-Najah Staff

Animal Breeding (95433)

First Semester 2010/2011

Faculty of Agriculture Department of Animal Production

Lecture days & time: Monday /Wednesday, 11-12:30

Instructor: Dr. Jihad ABDALLAH

Objective: acquaint the students with the basic tools and techniques for the genetic improvement of livestock breeds with particular eemphasis on prediction of breeding values, selection methods and crossbreeding systems. At the end of the course, students should have a good understanding of these notions and be able to carry out a genetic improvement program on the farm level.

1) Understanding Animal Breeding, 2nd edn (1999). Richard Bourdon. Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey

The following sources are valuable for the course:

1) Introduction to quantitative Genetics, Fourth edition, 1996. Falconer and MacKey,

Longman Group Ltd., Burnt Mill, Harlow, Essex

2) Genetics with applications to animal breeding (1990). Almallah and Dabdoub (in Arabic)

3) Animal Breeding, Jalal and Karam. Sixth edition, 2003. (in Arabic).

Introduction

Gene frequencies

- Computation of gene and genotypic frequencies

- Factors affecting gene frequency

- Hardy-Weinberg law

- Complete dominance, partial dominance and overdominance

- Additive gene action

- Epistasis

Genetic model for quantitative traits:

- Genetic value

- Breeding value

- Gene combination value

- Producing ability  

- Components of phenotypic variation

- Heritability

- Repeatability

(END OF MATERIAL FOR FIRST EXAM)

Genetic relationships and inbreeding coefficient:

- Wright’s coefficient of relationship

- Numerator relationships

- Inbreeding coefficient

(FIRST EXAM)

 Prediction of breeding values:

- using records on the animal itself

- using records on relatives

- combining information from different sources

- BLUP

- Selection for single traits

- Selection for multiple traits

Selection response:

- Direct response

- Correlated response

 (END OF MATERIAL FOR SECOND EXAM)    

-  Inbreeding

-  Out-breeding: crossbreeding and Heterosis

- MOET and Progeny testing schemes

- Open and closed nucleus schemes

 (SECOND EXAM)

- Gene detection and gene mapping

- Marker assisted selection

- Genomic selection

- Animal cloning

- Transgenic animals

- Record keeping

- Dairy cattle breeding

- Sheep and goat breeding

- Poultry breeding

- First term exam: 25 points

- Midterm exam: 25 points

- Final exam: 50 points