Implications of Cloning for Breed Improvement Strategies: Are Traditional Methods of Animal Improvement Obsolete?
L. D. Van Vleck1 USDA, ARS, U.S. Meat Animal Research Center, A218 Animal Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln 68583-0908 1 To whom correspondence should be addressed: A218 Animal Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln 68583-0908 (phone: 402/472-6010; fax: 402/472-6362; E-mail: ansc418{at}unlvm.unl.edu’ + u + ‘@’ + d + ”//–>). Abstract Can the optimum animal be defined? Will that definition change over time, by location, by market demand? First, assume what may be impossible, that the perfect animal can be defined or that only a limited number of definitions of “perfect” are needed. Then, can the “perfect” animal to match a definition be found? Suppose such an animal is found. Then the question to be answered before trying to clone as a method of genetic improvement becomes “Is the animal perfect because of phenotype or genotype?” In other words, the P = G + E problem exists, which requires traditional methods of genetic evaluation and testing to determine whether genotype (G
