Prospects for utilization of the relationship between zoometrical measurements and performance traits for poultry and livestock genetic improvement in developing countries
Journal Title: Scientific Journal of Animal Science - Year 2015, Vol 4, Issue 11
Abstract
The preceding review looks at the prospects for utilization of the relationship between zoometrical measurements and performance traits for poultry and livestock genetic improvement in developing countries. Improvement of poultry and livestock indigenous to developing countries is paramount in order to increase their contribution to the much needed animal protein due to human population increase in this part of the world. However, this is on the background that the estimates of genetic parameters for performance traits in poultry and livestock are scarce in developing countries because of failure of most attempted selection schemes, which has been exacerbated by the problems of measuring of performance traits due to lack of appropriate technologies. Assessment of the performance of poultry and livestock species is done using various indices, most especially on growth and development traits as well as body conformational traits. The significant genotypic correlations between the body weight and the zoometrical measurements and the heritability of the body weight at various stages of livestock production indicate a systematic cause which can be important to consider for livestock breeding and selection purposes. In case, where the genetic correlations between zoometrical measurements and performance traits of concern are positive and high this implies that the traits are genetically linked. Morphological properties can provide to some extent a reasonable representation of the differences among the genotypes within the same species, though not exhaustive, it serves as the foundation upon which DNA analysis can be built. Selection for improved production within poultry and livestock breeds or ecotypes is problematic for one of the following reasons: for effective selection depends on accurate recording of pedigree and performance traits. The complexity of measuring some of the performance traits due to lack of necessary equipment or technology presents considerable obstacles to effective selection for improved performance in developing countries. Unlike the developing world, recently, DNA analysis through molecular markers has provided an invaluable new technology in poultry and livestock improvement for determining the relationships among individuals, breeds and ecotypes.
Authors and Affiliations
N. Assan *| Open University , Zimbabwe .
Keywords
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