Abstract: Heritability shows the degree of resemblance between relatives. Heritability is the most important genetic parameter on which different breeding strategy depends. The knowledge of heritability is a prerequisite for the formulation of breeding plans on scientific lines. There is need to know the heritability of different characters which are used for selection of parents for future bre...

The long-term decline in the incidence of the neural tube malformations, anencephaly and spina bifida (ASB), ended in the mid-1950's in New York State. Since that time, the rate of these birth defects has remained between 1 and 1.5/1000 births. In this low incidence population, we tested the basic tenets which support a genetic aetiology. We found that the full sib recurrence rate (1.8%) was hi...

A genome scan was conducted in two US Holstein half-sib families to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) affecting milk production and conformation traits using the granddaughter design. The sires of the two studied families were related as sire and son and had 96 and 212 sons respectively. A total of 221 microsatellite loci were scored in both families. Statistical analysis was performed usi...