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

How establish a pure-breeding population of brown pigs, Would it be possibl...

Would it be possible to establish a pure-breeding population of brown pigs with a few black spots?

Skeleton, what are the biological significance of skeleton

what are the biological significance of skeleton

Surgical treatment of infective endocarditis, Cardiac surgical intervention...

Cardiac surgical intervention has an increasingly important role in the treatment of intracardiac complications of endocarditis. Retrospective data suggest that mortality is unacce

Reagents for determination of saponification number of fats, Define Reagent...

Define Reagents for Determination of the Saponification Number of Fats? 0.5 N alcoholic KOH 0.5 N HCI Solid sodium carbonate 1% alcoholic solution of methyl orange

What is the action mechanism of the antiretroviral drugs, Q. What is the ac...

Q. What is the action mechanism of the antiretroviral drugs known protease inhibitors which are used against HIV infection? Protease inhibitors are some of the antiretroviral d

Show the anatomical evidence, Q. Show the Anatomical Evidence? Anatomy ...

Q. Show the Anatomical Evidence? Anatomy is the study of the structure, organisation and development of cells and tissues of plants and animals. For over a century taxonomists

What is the properties of aqueous solutions, Which of the following is TRUE...

Which of the following is TRUE about the properties of aqueous solutions? Select one: a. A pH change from 5.0 to 6.0 reflects an increase in the hydroxide ion concentration (

Explain the appearance of a single e. coli colony, Describe the appearance ...

Describe the appearance of a single E. coli colony. Why can it be considered genetically homogenous?

Explain subphylum vertebrata, Subphylum  Vertebrata : (41,700 species, th...

Subphylum  Vertebrata : (41,700 species, the vertebrates) Vertebral column of bone or cartilage, head is well developed, heart is ventrally situated dorsal aorta, two pairs of

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