GENERAL ZOOTECHNICS AND GENETIC IMPROVEMENT
cod. 12503

Academic year 2007/08
2° year of course - Second semester
Professor responsible for the course unit
SABBIONI Alberto
integrated course unit
5 credits
hub:
course unit
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Learning objectives

Provide the student with the fundamentals relative to genetic transmission of characteristics <br />
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Provide the student with the elements for selecting breed animals <br />
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Provide the student with elements for the management of animal populations <br />
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Provide the student with elements on the characteristics of the main breeds of domestic animals

Prerequisites

Applied physics – Basic mathematics for biomedical sciences – Medical and biological computer science <br />
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Histology and embryology – Zoology Histology and embryology - Zoology

Course unit content

Zootechnical systems for the production of meat, milk and other animal-based products. <br />
ZOOTECNIC DEMOGRAPHY <br />
Structure of animal populations. <br />
GENETIC IMPROVEMENT OF ANIMALS IN ZOOTECHNICAL PRODUCTION <br />
Outline of genetic transmission of characteristics. Mendelian heredity (qualitative characteristics, laws of Mendel, gene interaction and deviation from expected Mendelian relationships, sex determination and sex-related heredity, lethal genes, multiple allelism). Population genetic principles (concept of genic and genotypic frequency, law of Hardy-Weinberg). Brief references to statistical concepts (probability, variance, covariance, correlation and regression). Quantitative traits(variability, composition of phenotype environmental variability, additive and non-additive effect of genes, heritability, repeatability). Genetic improvement of animals in zootechnical production. Organisation of selection in Italy (genealogical books, registers). Functional controls of animal productions. Relationships. Methods of estimating the genetic value of breed animals (performance test, Sib test, progeny test, BLUP-animal model). Direct and indirect selection, genetic progress, selection using multiple characteristics. Reproduction methods: blood relationship and crossbreeding. Application of genetic improvement to the main zootechnical productions (bovine: milk and meat; swine: meat). <br />
ZOOTECHNICAL ETHNOGRAPHY AND ETHNOLOGY <br />
General characters, origin, evolution, diffusion, classification of the main breeds: <br />
- breeds of dairy cattle, meat cattle and dual purpose breeds with  (meat and milk); <br />
- ovine breeds bred in Italy depending on their potentiality; foreign ovine breeds of major interest for Italian breeding farms; <br />
- goat breeds; <br />
- pig breeds; <br />
- horse breeds; <br />
- classification of canine breeds.

Full programme

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Bibliography

BITTANTE G., ANDRIGHETTO L., RAMANZIN M.: Fondamenti di Zootecnica. Liviana Ed., Padova, 1990 <br />
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CALAMARI L., FAVERZANI S.: Atlante delle razze bovine (CD ROM) <br />
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PAGNACCO G.: Genetica applicata alle produzioni animali. Citta Studi Ed., Milano, 1997 <br />
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WEB SITE: http://www.unipr.it/~sabbioni/ http://www.unipr.it/arpa/facvet/d! ol/dol.htm< /FONT>

Teaching methods

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Assessment methods and criteria

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Other information

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