METHODS OF USING GENETIC MARKERS AND RELATED EPISTATIC INTERACTIONS.

摘要

The present invention provides methods for improving desirable animal traits including improved fitness and productivity in dairy animals. Also provided are methods for determining a dairy animal's genotype with respect to multiple markers associated with fitness and/or productivity. The invention also provides methods for selecting or allocating animals for predetermined uses such as progeny testing or nucleus herd breeding, for picking potential parent animals for breeding, and for producing improved progeny animals. Each of the above methods may be further improved through the incorporation of interaction effects between multiple SNPs.