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Animal Genetic in Environment Interaction

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Sustainable Food Production

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Definition of the Subject

The existence of genotype by environment interaction (G×E) makes animal breeding more complicated. It means that the same genotype is not the best in all environments, and it implies that separate breeding programs might be needed to cater for these different environments. However, separate (and therefore, smaller) breeding programs might be less efficient than one large program. Small breeding programs might also encounter problems with inbreeding depression, but on the other hand, several populations with different breeding programs and breeding goals might increase the overall genetic diversity. Therefore, G×E is an important factor to consider when creating breeding programs for animals, especially in a global setting.

Introduction

The ability to respond to changes in the environment is a vital characteristic of all organisms. This ability is called phenotypic plasticity or sometimes, environmental sensitivity...

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Abbreviations

Genotype by environment interaction:

It exists when the difference between the phenotypic values of two genotypes is not the same in two environments.

Plasticity:

The ability of an individual to respond to changes in the environment.

Reaction norms:

The phenotypic expression of a genotype as a function of the environment.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 7023, 75007, Uppsala, Sweden

    Dr. Erling Strandberg

Authors
  1. Dr. Erling Strandberg
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Erling Strandberg .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department de Produccio Vegetal i Ciencia Forestal, Universitat de Lleida/ICREA, Lleida, Spain

    Paul Christou

  2. Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain

    Paul Christou

  3. Department of Crop and Forest Sciences, University of Lleida, Lleida, Spain

    Roxana Savin

  4. University of New England, Marine Science Center, Biddeford, ME, USA

    Barry A. Costa-Pierce

  5. Department of Animal and Dairy Science Breeding and Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA

    Ignacy Misztal

  6. The Roslin Institute and Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, Division of Developmental Biology, University of Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland, UK

    C. Bruce A. Whitelaw

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Strandberg, E. (2013). Animal Genetic in Environment Interaction. In: Christou, P., Savin, R., Costa-Pierce, B.A., Misztal, I., Whitelaw, C.B.A. (eds) Sustainable Food Production. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5797-8_343

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