ANIMAL BREEDING AND GENETICS- Module for Open and Distance

This is an introductory course to Animal Breeding and Genetics. The course targets students who study animal production. The course describes the theories and practices in animal breeding as they relate to animal production systems. The history of genetics and animal breeding, chromosome structure, number and variations are discussed. The gene and genotype, genetic code, Mendelism, fundamental principles of inheritance, types of gene actions, values and means, repeatability and heritability, variations in farm animals and selection principles. Animal breeding methods and estimation of breeding values are described.