Animal breeding

Animal breeding is the process of selective mating of animals with desirable genetic traits, to maintain or enhance these traits in future generations. For livestock, this involves estimation of the genetic value of individuals for traits including growth rate and yield of products such as eggs, milk or meat.

makes use of the natural variation among animals. It can yield permanent and cumulative improvements in the population because the selected traits are directly transferred from generation to generation. Genetic recording schemes are already in place in many developed countries.

Classification of Breeding Systems:

The breeding system can be classified into five different ways depending on their phenotypic and genotypic relations.

The five breeding systems are:

1. Random mating or Panmixia
2. Phenotypic assortive mating
3. Phenotypic disassortive mating
4. Genetic assortive mating
5. Genetic disassortive mating

Random mating or Panmixia:

It is a system of mating in which each male individual has an equal opportunity to mate with the female individual and vice versa. This mating system generally takes place in nature where the number of males and females are assumed to be equal.

 Phenotypic assortive mating:

In this type of mating animals which are phenotypically alike are allowed to mate among themselves. This is also called “like to like” mating.

Phenotypic disassortive mating:

Here individuals which are phenotypically unlike are allowed to mate. It is also called “unlike to unlike” mating. For example, mating of tall with short individuals.

Genetic assortive mating:

In this system individuals, which are closely related genetically are allowed to mate. This is also known as inbreeding.This system is just opposite to the previous system where mating takes place between less closely related individuals. This is also called as out breeding.

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Rebecca Pearson
Editorial Manager