Genomic Selection and Prediction of Offspring Quality in Animals

Abstract

Genomic selection is a very new scientific area, which has quickly become the world’s most advanced methodology to select farm animal, especially cattle, breeding schemes. The high efficiency of genomic selection is determined by the early identification of genetically elite animals using information about the status of single-nucleotide polymorphisms of genome DNA, which makes it possible to calculate breeding value indexes, embracing nearly all quantitative trait loci. A high accuracy of selection at a young age helps decrease generation intervals and accelerate significantly genetic progress in animal husbandry.