CANLUBO, Hanna Rebecca D.

January 29, 2019

BSABE – 1B Principles of Animal Science

III. Genetics and Livestock Improvement

e. Reproduction and Genetic Improvement of Animals
 What is Reproduction? (or procreation or breeding) is the biological process by which
new individual organisms – "offspring" – are produced from their "parents".
 Two Forms of Reproduction
 Asexual and Sexual Reproduction
Asexual reproduction - a mechanism that produces offspring that are genetically identical to the
parent
Examples:
1. budding: a form of asexual reproduction that results from the outgrowth of a part of an
organism leading to a separation from the original animal into two individuals
2. fission: (also, binary fission) a form of asexual reproduction in which an organism splits
into two separate organisms or two parts that regenerate the missing portions of the body
3. fragmentation: the breaking of an organism into parts and the growth of a separate
individual from each part
Sexual reproduction - is a form of reproduction in which cells containing genetic material from
two individuals combines to produce genetically unique offspring
 Genetic Improvement
Genetic improvement occurs when the genetic merit is improved through selection.
(The improvement in genetic merit refers to the overall improvement in a flock brought about by
selection for a number of traits that contribute to the flock's breeding objective, such as high growth
rate or carcass yield.)
 Rate of genetic improvement
 The amount of time is influenced by three key factors:
1. Heritability of the trait - The degree to which the trait will be passed on. Highly heritable
traits are easier to select for. While the heritability of a trait cannot be changed, the degree
of heritability of particular traits needs to be considered in the overall breeding program.
2. Generation interval - The time interval between generations, determined by the average
age of the parents at each mating. This can be reduced by using young sires and
technologies such as JIVET (juvenile in vitro embryo transfer).
3. Selection differential - The difference between the average genetic merit of the parents
and the average of the population from which they came. This is a breeder's main tool in
driving genetic improvement. Producers who buy ram from seed stock breeders who
undertake whole flock recording and have high quality.
 Artificial insemination (AI) is the process of collecting sperm cells from a male animal
and manually depositing them into the reproductive tract of a female.
 Embryo Transfer Technology (Ett)
CANLUBO, Hanna Rebecca D. January 29, 2019
BSABE – 1B Principles of Animal Science

Embryo transfer is a specialized technique of breeding. A sexually mature female referred to as

the donor is injected with exogenous hormones to produce. Ova (the female reproductive cell or
gamete of animals, which is capable of developing, into a new individual) are fertilized inside her
either by natural or artificial service. These are then removed prior to their implantation and
transfer to the reproductive tracts of synchronized surrogate mothers of the same species referred
to as the recipients. The fertilized ova, thus are developed in the recipient body and resulting
offspring derive their genes from the donor and from the male to which donor was bred.

 What is cloning?

The term cloning describes a number of different processes that can be used to produce
genetically identical copies of a biological entity. The copied material, which has the same genetic
makeup as the original, is referred to as a clone.

Researchers have cloned a wide range of biological materials, including genes, cells,
tissues and even entire organisms, such as a sheep

 What are the types of artificial cloning?

There are three different types of artificial cloning: gene cloning, reproductive cloning and
therapeutic cloning. Gene cloning produces copies of genes or segments of DNA. Reproductive
cloning produces copies of whole animals. Therapeutic cloning produces embryonic stem cells for
experiments aimed at creating tissues to replace injured or diseased tissues.Gene cloning, also
known as DNA cloning, is a very different process from reproductive and therapeutic cloning.
Reproductive and therapeutic cloning share many of the same techniques, but are done for different
purposes.

What are the potential applications of cloned animals?

Reproductive cloning may enable researchers to make copies of animals with the potential
benefits for the fields of medicine and agriculture.
Another application is to create clones to build populations of endangered, or possibly even
extinct, species of animals. In 2001, researchers produced the first clone of an endangered species:
a type of Asian ox known as a guar. Sadly, the baby guar, which had developed inside a surrogate
cow mother, died just a few days after its birth.