Modification of performance traits, Biology

Assignment Help:

Modification of performance traits

Modifications to livestock that could influence traits such as growth rate, feed efficiency and meat quality are major goals for livestock breeding in agriculture. Mice in which the myostatin gene has been knocked out have considerably more skeletal muscle than wild type controls. The double-muscle phenotype of some breeds of cattle is caused by natural mutations of this gene and these are widely bred in Europe for improved meat quality. Knockout of this gene in sheep or pigs could produce animals with increased skeletal muscle mass and improved meat quality, although there are clearly major ethical issues relating to animal welfare that would have to be considered if these types of animal were generated.

Other areas of transgenic applications in animal agriculture include modifying milk composition to increase milk proteins, to decrease milk fat or to change milk composition to provide a source of milk for lactose-intolerant individuals or to provide a source of milk that is more efficiently processed into cheese. An area that definitely needs more exploration is the use of the chicken oviduct as a bioreactor. This approach has numerous advantages over the transgenic mammary gland. To name a few, the ease of collecting the product, short generation times, quantity, safety and low costs are unmatched by the traditional approach of transgenic milk. However, this system is still in its infancy because micromanipulation of the chicken embryo is very difficult, and transgenic chickens are often mosaics. It is also possible that the best protein expression levels will be obtained when multiple copies of transgene integrate into a particular favourable chromosomal locus. Cloning will greatly reduce timeliness to get therapeutic products to the market by producing large number of genetically identical transgenic livestock animals in the first generation.


Related Discussions:- Modification of performance traits

What are the vitamins which make up the b complex, Q. What are the vitamins...

Q. What are the vitamins which make up the B complex? Which problems does the lack of these vitamins cause? Vitamins of the B complex are: vitamin B1 or thiamin, riboflavin, or

Define the methyl red test - imvic test, Define the Methyl Red Test? As...

Define the Methyl Red Test? As you have read in previous section, all enteric bacteria utilize glucose to obtain energy. Depending upon the end products formed, all enteric bac

Explain about the physiology of eyelid movements, Explain about the physiol...

Explain about the physiology of eyelid movements. Physiology of Eyelid Movements: It is quoted that the eyelids move more than any other part of the body. The major movem

What is test battery, What is test battery A series of tests (called a ...

What is test battery A series of tests (called a test battery) will be given. One widely used battery is Halstead Reitan, which includes measures of verbal and nonverbal intell

What is the mendel observations and conclusions, How would Mendel's observa...

How would Mendel's observations and conclusions have been dissimilar if many of the characteristics he studied, such as seed color and seed texture, had been controlled by genes lo

Blood from a donor is sterile and stored in a sealed bag, Blood from a dono...

Blood from a donor is sterile and stored in a sealed bag, but it is still kept at 4°C. What is the advantage of keeping it at this low temperature?   At 4 °C, enzyme activi

Conducting system of the heart, The fibrous rings of the four valves of the...

The fibrous rings of the four valves of the heart are continuous with each other. They not only form the basis for the attachment of the corresponding valve cusps but also form an

Monosaccharides, discuss the stereo isomerism of monosaccharides

discuss the stereo isomerism of monosaccharides

Indications for surgery, Indications for Surgery :  Patients with moderate...

Indications for Surgery :  Patients with moderate or severe tricuspid regurgitation that is functional will need tricuspid annuloplasty at the time of correction of mitral valve d

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd