Genomics and biotechnology in livestock breeding

Some of the current concepts of livestock genomics and reproductive biotechnology are illustrated in this book. These new technologies provide the means to address the complex demands of livestock production. New avenues for selection and reproduction have been opened and significant progress has been made to improve production, product quality, food safety, health, welfare and genetic diversity in livestock by the utilization of molecular information in selection of farm animals. The development of dense marker maps in most livestock species enabled the exploitation of genes segregating at loci with effects on numerous traits. Marker assisted selection will undoubtedly contribute to improve the accuracy of phenotypical selection strategies and enable a much more detailed genetic description of an individual animal.