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Animal breeding has been complicated by persisting factors across species, cultures, geography, and time. In Made to Order , Margaret E. Derry explains these factors and other breeding concerns in relation to both animals and society in North America and Europe over the past three centuries. Made to Order addresses how breeding methodology evolved, what characterized the aims of breeding, and the way structures were put in place to regulate the occupation. Illustrated by case studies on important farm animals and companion species, the book presents a synthetic overview of livestock breeding as a whole. It gives considerable emphasis to genetics and animal breeding in the post-1960 period, the relationship between environmental and improvement breeding, and regulation of breeding as seen through pedigrees. In doing so, Made to Order shows how studying the ancient human practice of animal breeding can illuminate the ways in which human thinking, theorizing, and evolving characterize our interactions with all-natural processes.

How the arrival of cattle transformed life and society in the Americas In this book, Nicolas Delsol compares zooarchaeological and material evidence from sites across Mesoamerica and the Caribbean to show how the introduction of cattle, beginning with imports by Spanish colonizers in the 1500s, shaped colonial American society. Before European colonization, cows were vital in European and African societies but were unknown to the Native communities of the Western Hemisphere. This book traces their impact in the Americas by using a broad range of methods, such as ancient DNA analyses on faunal collections from major postcolumbian sites. Delsol describes the place of cattle in the colonial culture and landscape, beginning with the transportation of cattle across the Atlantic and moving to herding practices in new habitats, butchery techniques, and the production, trading, and use of cow byproducts. Cattle in the Postcolumbian Americas is the first large-scale regional archaeological study of the introduction of a European domesticated species to the Americas. Using both zooarchaeological and historical data, Delsol argues that the arrival of cattle was a major consequence of European colonization with effects that have often been overlooked.

As with many new technologies, the comprehensive information related to omics is lacking. In this book, we have summarized information about how omics-based approaches are causing paradigm shifts in various research areas of biological sciences. The book contains 11 chapters that cover all major aspects of omics-related research methods. The book begins with an overview of the omics before moving on to contemporary omics approaches and their applications in various research areas such as genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, toxicogenomics, metabolomics, and nutrigenomics, etc. We also discuss how these new technologies are causing paradigm shifts in research related to animal sciences and human disease research. This resource provides a comprehensive overview of the present state of integrated omics research and medicine, with topics ranging from nutrition and animal traits improvement to human diseases such as cancer. The book brings together recent advancements in the omics field to create a cutting-edge framework for this discipline. Providing a complete perspective, we also highlight obstacles that are hindering the broader implementation of these omics technologies. We allow the reader to become acquainted with research trends in omics and an understanding of the quality controls and filtering of high throughput sequencing data in omics as well as implementation of omics in various research areas of biology.

Illustrated with review studies on animal health economics, this book presents information on the most important economic tools applied to livestock, covering both theory and practical applications. Topics covered include gross margin analysis, partial budgeting, investment and financial appraisal and cost-benefit analysis. There are also sections on decision tree analysis, optimisation methods, value chain analysis, new institutional economics, DALYs and a range of policy analysis tools. International experts contribute on important theoretical and practical aspects of animal health and production economics, with global themes on livestock and poverty.

Surrogate broodstock technology facilitates the production of donor-derived gametes in surrogates, and comprises transplanting germ cells of a donor into recipients of a different strain or different species. The following applications of this technology are expected in the field of aquaculture: (1) the efficient and reliable production of offspring carrying superior genetic traits by transplanting donor germ cells from a single selected fish with superior traits into many recipient fish; (2) the reduction of the time required to breed fish by using a recipient species with a short generation time to produce gametes of a species with a long generation time; (3) the long-term storage of valuable species or strains as genetic resources by cryopreserving germ cells for transplantation; (4) the mass production of genetically sterile fish by transplanting germ cells of a donor fish that is sterile due to a mutation in the somatic cells into normal recipients without this mutation. It is expected that a combination of these techniques will greatly accelerate the breeding of aquaculture species. It is important to adapt surrogate broodstock technology to a wider range of fishery species and further improve the efficiency of donor-derived gamete production when using surrogate broodstock.

Aquaculture has been one of the fastest-growing sectors in agriculture and plays an important role in supplying high quality proteins for humans. Genetic improvement for important traits is essential for increasing aquaculture production. The aquaculture of Asian seabass (Lates calcarifer) has become important in Southeast Asia and Australia and has expanded to other countries. In Singapore, a breeding program was initiated in 2004, aimed at improving growth rates, high omega-3 content, and disease resistance within Asian seabass populations. Many genomic resources have been developed to achieve these goals. The breeding program was established with a broodstock of 549 broodfish collected from the wilds of Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore. Through four generations of family-based selection, utilizing a combination of conventional selective breeding, molecular parentage analysis, marker-assisted selection, and genomic selection techniques, three distinct elite lines of Asian seabass were successfully established. Each line consisted of approximately 200 broodfish. These lines were selected for growth, higher omega-3 content, and disease resistance, respectively. These traits have been improved without dramatically reducing genetic variation. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the methodologies adopted and status of the genetic improvement of the above-mentioned traits. Concurrently, certain gaps in the existing body of research have been identified. In the future, additional traits related to the ability to use feeds with reduced fishmeal, as well as adaptation to climate change and resistance against emerging diseases should be included in the breeding program.

The commercial captive breeding of wildlife is often seen as a potential conservation tool to relieve pressure on wild populations, but laundering of wild-sourced specimens as captive bred can seriously undermine conservation efforts and provide a false sense of sustainability. Indonesia is at the center of such controversy; therefore, we examined Indonesia's captive-breeding production plan (CBPP) for 2016. We compared the biological parameters used in the CBPP with parameters in the literature and with parameters suggested by experts on each species and identified shortcomings of the CBPP. Production quotas for 99 out of 129 species were based on inaccurate or unrealistic biological parameters and production quotas deviated more than 10% from what parameters in the literature allow for. For 38 species, the quota exceeded the number of animals that can be bred based on the biological parameters (range 100-540%) calculated with equations in the CBPP. We calculated a lower reproductive output for 88 species based on published biological parameters compared with the parameters used in the CBPP. The equations used in the production plan did not appear to account for other factors (e.g., different survival rate for juveniles compared to adult animals) involved in breeding the proposed large numbers of specimens. We recommend the CBPP be adjusted so that realistic published biological parameters are applied and captive-breeding quotas are not allocated to species if their captive breeding is unlikely to be successful or no breeding stock is available. The shortcomings in the current CBPP create loopholes that mean mammals, reptiles, and amphibians from Indonesia declared captive bred may have been sourcedfrom the wild. La crianza de fauna en cautiverio con fines comerciales comúnmente es vista como una herramienta potencial de conservación para mitigar la presión sobre las poblaciones silvestres, pero el lavado de especímenes silvestres como criados en cautiverio puede debilitar seriamente los esfuerzos de conservación y proporcionar un sentido falso de la sustentabilidad. Indonesia se encuentra en el centro de dicha controversia; por lo tanto, examinamos el plan de producción de crianza en cautiverio (CBPP) de este país para el 2016. Comparamos los parámetros biológicos utilizados en el CBPP con los parámetros en la literatura y con los parámetros sugeridos por los expertos para cada especie e identificamos las limitaciones del CBPP. Las cuotas de producción para 99 de las 129 especies estuvieron basadas en parámetros biológicos erróneos o irreales y las cuotas de producción se desviaron más del 10% de lo que permiten los parámetros en la literatura. Para 38 especies, la cuota excedió el número de animales que pueden ser criados con base en los parámetros biológicos (rango 100% - 540%) calculados con ecuaciones del CBPP. Calculamos un resultado reproductivo más bajo para 88 especies con base en los parámetros biológicos publicados comparados con los parámetros utilizados en el CBPP. Las ecuaciones utilizadas en el plan de producción parecieron no responder por otros factores (p. ej.: las diferentes tasas de supervivencia de los juveniles comparados con los animales adultos) involucrados en la crianza del gran número propuesto de especímenes. Recomendamos que el CBPPsea ajustado para que se apliquen parámetros biológicos realistas y publicados y que las cuotas de crianza en cautiverio no sean asignadas a las especies si su reproducción en cautiverio tiene pocas probabilidades de ser exitosa o si no hay un stock de reproducción disponible. Las limitaciones en el actual CBPP crean resquicios que implican que los mamíferos, reptiles y anfibios de Indonesia declarados como criados en cautiverio pueden haber sido obtenidos en vida silvestre.

The Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) is threatened with extinction because of a contagious cancer known as Devil Facial Tumor Disease. The inability to mount an immune response and to reject these tumors might be caused by a lack of genetic diversity within a dwindling population. Here we report a whole-genome analysis of two animals originating from extreme northwest and southeast Tasmania, the maximal geographic spread, together with the genome from a tumor taken from one of them. A 3.3-Gb de novo assembly of the sequence data from two complementary next-generation sequencing platforms was used to identify 1 million polymorphic genomic positions, roughly one-quarter of the number observed between two genetically distant human genomes. Analysis of 14 complete mitochondrial genomes from current and museum specimens, as well as mitochondrial and nuclear SNP markers in 175 animals, suggests that the observed low genetic diversity in today's population preceded the Devil Facial Tumor Disease disease outbreak by at least 100 y. Using a genetically characterized breeding stock based on the genome sequence will enable preservation of the extant genetic diversity in future Tasmanian devil populations.

Aquaculture in sub‐Saharan African accounts for less than 2% of world aquaculture production. The use of unimproved species limits the growth of aquaculture. In order to increase production, there is a need to develop aquaculture species that show vigor and adapt to different culture conditions. A genetic improvement program for Oreochromis shiranus was initiated at the National Aquaculture Center (NAC), in Zomba, Malawi. The program used pedigree records during mate allocation to avoid mating of siblings. After six consecutive generations of selection, a sample of 32 fish was taken for genetic analysis using a panel of 16 microsatellite markers. Genetic diversity and population differentiation indices of the sixth filial generation (F6) were compared with wild fish populations sampled from the corresponding locations from which the initial brood stock was collected. The study results show that the genetic diversity of the F6 generation and wild populations was not significantly different after the Kruskal–Wallis tests. However, the number of private alleles was lower in generation F6 (0.80) than in the overall average for wild populations (1.28). Discriminant analysis of principal components (DAPCs) supported analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) by showing that there were no significant overlaps of inertia ellipses among F6 generation and wild populations. The experimental population differentiated into a separate group because of the random brood stock contribution from only a few fish from the wild population. The results suggest that the initial genetic diversity of the brood stock was sufficient as shown by the high number of alleles and polymorphic information content (PIC) values which contributed to the success of the selection program. The selection program successfully produced large fish at harvest and ensured genetic diversity of the F6 generation.

The origins of agriculture date to about 9000 years, but commercial culture and supplementation of marine populations reach back only a few centuries. Hence, wild populations still play a major role in seafood production. Closed culture, stock restorations, sea ranching and stock enhancements of marine fishes and invertebrates have been implemented with various outcomes. A review of the literature indicates that considerable effort has been directed toward culture technologies to maximize production, but scant attention has been given to genetic risks to wild populations. Genetic risks from stock enhancements can be substantial, because of inattention to brood-stock sizes, and because hybridization between hatchery-reared and wild individuals can lower the fitness or lead to the extinction of a natural population. In many cases, small brood-stock sizes have led to the loss of genetic diversity. In some cases, hatchery-reared individuals appear to have replaced, rather than supplemented, wild populations. Here, we outline a responsible approach to managing genetic resources that includes six steps: (1) assess the costs and benefits of a stock restoration or enhancement, (2) set goals and genetic benchmarks, (3) use appropriate brood stock and limit domestication, (4) design release strategies that maximize the effectiveness of supplementation efforts, (5) track individuals after release and (6) minimize genetic impacts on wild populations. Stock supplementation is often viewed as an immediate solution to a stock decline, but should be undertaken as a last resort because of the high cost of implementation and the substantial ecological and genetic risks to wild populations.