Question

Discuss briefly how pure lines are created in animal husbandry.

Answer 1

Pure line:

A pureline refers to a line of descent that consists of homozygous animals that have been raised from closely related parents.

Inbreeding:

Inbreeding refers to the mating of closely related organisms of the same breed for 4-6 generations. The harmful recessive genes are exposed and removed from the population as a result of inbreeding. Once the harmful genes are eliminated, the population consists of superior desirable genes. This increases the productivity of the population.

Role of inbreeding in development of purelines:

Inbreeding is used to develop pure lines in animal husbandry as it increases homozygosity. This is because mating closely related animals increases the chances that the offspring will receive the same allele from both parents. Thus, repeated inbreeding leads to development of purelines in cattle.