SYMPOSIUM: CYTOGENETICS AND CELL BIOLOGY Interrelationships Between Recent Developments in Molecular Genetics and Cytogenetics and Animal Breeding 1

Animal breeding traditionally has entailed devising means to apply quantitative and population genetic theory to increase productive capacity of livestock. A highly developed and successful industry has been built on foundations established by academic animal breeders. Recent developments in related sciences such as reproductive biology, molecular biology, cellular biology, and cytogenetics offer prospects for the emergence of a number of methodologies that might usefully be applied to animal breeding. Scientists engaged in development of the newer technologies are not wholly familiar with the livestock industry, its breeding structure, its objectives, its institutions or its peculiarities. Animal breeders, however, are not fully cognizant of the scientific advances being made in related fields, their potential for development and application or their limitations, and therefore, animal breeders have not seriously thought about how they might be integrated most usefully and efficaciously into the animal breeding enterprise. A collaboration is needed in which the laboratory scientists produce new ideas, products, and methods and the animal breeders-using system analysis, simulation procedures, and laboratory animal and livestock breeding tests-help make rational choices, partially direct work of the laboratory scientists, help the industry integrate new methods, and monitor the extent of success of adapted innovations. INTRODUCTION Successful animal breeding schemes are based upon two primary components, one academic and one commercial. The appropriate function of the academic component is exploration of new ground, development of novel ideas and methodologies that enable new questions to be asked, and building a storehouse of pertinent knowledge. The commercial component adapts appropriate segments of the new knowledge to build a business to accumulate and sell improved germ plasm, in various forms, to animal producers. There occurs very little duplication of effort between the two. Academic animal breeders have concentrated largely on research and monitoring the operation of the industry whereas the commercial enterprises have dealt with development and sales. This paper relates largely to academic animal breeding, its present state, and its prospects. It reviews briefly the approaches that have been used, their accomplishments, and their consequences. The rapid growth of knowledge in related fields, viz. reproductive, molecular, and cell biology and cytogenetics are noted. Means for their integration into academic animal breeding are explored. Particular emphasis is given to speculation about modification of approaches taken to the general objective of genetic improvement of animals. Questions are raised as to how developments in the more recently developed fields might best be integrated into animal breeding research programs, how the objectives for animal breeding might be altered, and how the enterprise might be organized to enable the most effective use of the limited resources available to departments