Modelling genetically based animal breeding
by
Ryan Sherriff
Institute of Information Sciences and Technology, Massey University

The health, the growth and even the behaviour of animals has been modified by humans over tens of thousands of years. These changes have been achieved through a combination of genetic selection and environment modification.

There is a steady drive by molecular geneticists and biochemists towards a complete description of the way in which the genome of an animal results in a particular phenotype. This knowledge opens the way for selection based on genotype, rather than phenotype or a prediction of the genotype based on phenotype.

Can selection on genotype improve on selection based on phenotype? A simple model of life is presented that is built from the genome level; our digital creatures possess a single trait, capable of improvement. The model will be described and both simulation and analytical results for several animal breeding methods will be presented.

Date received: September 4, 2001

Copyright © 2001 by the author(s). The author(s) of this document and the organizers of the conference have granted their consent to include this abstract in Atlas Conferences Inc. Document # cahg-93.