Concepts of animal breeding and genetics

Overview

Humans have been breeding livestock for many hundreds of years. This module will introduce several of the key concepts that underpin animal breeding and genetics. This includes outlining the factors that influence animal performance, introduce the concept of heritability, and explore what influences the rate of genetic improvement in a breeding program.

Learning objectives

At completion of this module, you will:

understand that specific characteristics in animals can be achieved through selective breeding
understand that the value of the breeding animal is its genes
understand how animal performance is influenced both by genetic (heritable) and environmental (non-heritable) factors
understand the factors that influence the rate of genetic improvement
understand that genetic improvement is permanent, cumulative and a long-term investment for livestock operations.