Abstract
Selection of broiler chickens for juvenile growth rate and proportion of breast weight is an ongoing instance of intense long-term directional selection. The response was accompanied by correlated effects on reproductive performance and livability. Thus, the modern broiler is a unique resource for studies of the genetics of response to long term selection. Two remarkable aspects characterize this response. (1) After more than sixty generations of selection, genetic progress continues with no indication of a plateau, and (2) Correlated effects appeared in a punctuated and coordinated manner; that is, they appeared sequentially in time and simultaneously in the stocks of all mainline breeders. We present two models to explain these aspects: (1) A combination of Island Model and group selection together with internal changes caused by selection (endo-environmental effects) and external changes due to changed management practices introduced to ameliorate the correlated effects of selection (exo-environmental effects). (2) A new model: Selection Induced Genetic Variation, which explains the genetic variation required for the long continued response as resulting from sequential changes in genetic background by selection bringing new cohorts of genes into play through epistatic interactions, in a programmed manner.
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Eitan, Y., Soller, M. (2004). Selection Induced Genetic Variation. In: Wasser, S.P. (eds) Evolutionary Theory and Processes: Modern Horizons. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-0443-4_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-0443-4_9
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