Publisher's Synopsis
Chickens, as well as other animals, have the ability to change their behavior and physiology based on the costs and benefits to fit their environment. Through natural selection, the population preserves and accumulates traits that are beneficial and rejects those that are detrimental in their prevailing environments. The surviving populations are able to contribute more genes associated with beneficial traits for increased fitness to subsequent generations. The principle of domestication of chickens, as well as other farm animals, by humans is similar to that of natural selection: selecting the best animals with the highest survivability and reproducibility (artificial selection). Compared with natural selection, the process of artificial selection is motivated by human needs and acts more rapidly with more visible results over a short time period. Genes control the behavioral, physiological, immunological, and psychological responses of animals to stressors, including environmental stimulations. With advances in understanding of genetic mediation of animal physiology and behavior and the discovery of the genome sequences of many species, animal production breeding programs can be improved in both speed and efficiency. Modern chicken breeding programs have the potential to be operated successfully in the breeding of tomorrow's chickens with high production efficiency and optimal welfare, resulting from resistance to stress, disease, or both. Recently, there has been a major shift from the differentiation of poultry breeds according to morphological and feather coloring characteristics, to differentiation based on measurements at the molecular level. The use of molecular markers can provide quantified criteria for assessing genetic diversity, either within or between populations. However, although they can be used to study relatedness between populations, provide information on past history of populations, detect introgressions and contribute to the genetic definition of a breed's entity, molecular markers do not provide information on phenotypes and special adaptive traits. Poultry - Anatomy, Breeding and Genetics deals with the transmission of individual characteristics of both parents to the offspring through the mechanism of heredity. Poultry breeding utilizes genetic principles to accomplish the goals of poultry producers for meat or egg production. Chickens, as well as other animals, have the ability to change their behavior and physiology based on the costs and benefits to fit their environment. Through natural selection, the population preserves and accumulates traits that are beneficial and rejects those that are detrimental in their prevailing environments. The surviving populations are able to contribute more genes associated with beneficial traits for increased fitness to subsequent generations. The principle of domestication of chickens, as well as other farm animals, by humans is similar to that of natural selection: selecting the best animals with the highest survivability and reproducibility (artificial selection). Compared with natural selection, the process of artificial selection is motivated by human needs and acts more rapidly with more visible results over a short time period. Genes control the behavioral, physiological, immunological, and psychological responses of animals to stressors, including environmental stimulations. With advances in understanding of genetic mediation of animal physiology and behavior and the discovery of the genome sequences of many species, animal production breeding programs can be improved in both speed and efficiency. Modern chicken breeding programs have the potential to be operated successfully in the breeding of tomorrow's chickens with high production efficiency and optimal welfare, resulting from resistance to stress, disease, or both. Recently, there has been a major shift from the differentiation of poultry breeds according to morphological and feather coloring characteristics, to differentiation based on measurements at the molecular level. The use of molecular markers can provide quantified criteria for assessing genetic diversity, either within or between populations. However, although they can be used to study relatedness between populations, provide information on past history of populations, detect introgressions and contribute to the genetic definition of a breed's entity, molecular markers do not provide information on phenotypes and special adaptive traits. Poultry - Anatomy, Breeding and Genetics deals with the transmission of individual characteristics of both parents to the offspring through the mechanism of heredity. Poultry breeding utilizes genetic principles to accomplish the goals of poultry producers for meat or egg production. Chickens, as well as other animals, have the ability to change their behavior and physiology based on the costs and benefits to fit their environment. Through natural selection, the population preserves and accumulates traits that are beneficial and rejects those that are detrimental in their prevailing environments. The surviving populations are able to contribute more genes associated with beneficial traits for increased fitness to subsequent generations. The principle of domestication of chickens, as well as other farm animals, by humans is similar to that of natural selection: selecting the best animals with the highest survivability and reproducibility (artificial selection). Compared with natural selection, the process of artificial selection is motivated by human needs and acts more rapidly with more visible results over a short time period. Genes control the behavioral, physiological, immunological, and psychological responses of animals to stressors, including environmental stimulations. With advances in understanding of genetic mediation of animal physiology and behavior and the discovery of the genome sequences of many species, animal production breeding programs can be improved in both speed and efficiency. Modern chicken breeding programs have the potential to be operated successfully in the breeding of tomorrow's chickens with high production efficiency and optimal welfare, resulting from resistance to stress, disease, or both. Recently, there has been a major shift from the differentiation of poultry breeds according to morphological and feather coloring characteristics, to differentiation based on measurements at the molecular level. The use of molecular markers can provide quantified criteria for assessing genetic diversity, either within or between populations. However, although they can be used to study relatedness between populations, provide information on past history of populations, detect introgressions and contribute to the genetic definition of a breed's entity, molecular markers do not provide information on phenotypes and special adaptive traits. Poultry - Anatomy, Breeding and Genetics deals with the transmission of individual characteristics of both parents to the offspring through the mechanism of heredity. Poultry breeding utilizes genetic principles to accomplish the goals of poultry producers for meat or egg production.
