Selective breeding

[Katchit]

Hello; i am new to the forum.

I would like to ask you about selective breeding and the chances of producing a Taurus (bull) that displayed favourable traits and phenotypes of 2 selectively-picked cattle; thus to produce a better offspring as a result.

Taurus have 30 chromosome pairs; so what are the potential outcomes of the breeding?

How do favourable phenotypes become dominant? is that just a result of the phenotype being heterozygous dominant?

Am i correct in thinking that it is important to keep as many different phenotype combinations in genes as possible; as this allows for diversity within a species?!? if the potential phenotypic combinations were reduced; would this mean that the species would begin to look more and more alike with continued breeding?

Thank you for your time and help; much appreciated.

[Darby]

Diversity is often reduced in selective breeding - think of the problems that have arisen in many dog breeds.

Selective breeding won't change dominance, but it will change prevalence, how common an allele is in a breeding population.

If you're working with just 2 parents, even selected ones, unless you know their alleles and how the coded proteins interact, you'll just be guessing about how the offspring will turn out. That's how classic selected breeding works.

[JackBean]

when you breed animals, you usually want rather uniform specimen

[Katchit]

Diversity is often reduced in selective breeding - think of the problems that have arisen in many dog breeds.

Selective breeding won't change dominance, but it will change prevalence, how common an allele is in a breeding population.

If you're working with just 2 parents, even selected ones, unless you know their alleles and how the coded proteins interact, you'll just be guessing about how the offspring will turn out. That's how classic selected breeding works.

Thank you.

That is very helpful.

Do you have any more information regarding on how 'coded proteins' interact?

Thanks again.

when you breed animals, you usually want rather uniform specimen

Thank you for your reply.

So you would want something to continue the better phenotypes from the animals bred from?

[JackBean]

I'm sorry, but I don't understand.

[Katchit]

I'm sorry, but I don't understand.

Sorry.

If you managed to get the breed to how you want it; would you then continue to use the Mother and Father to continue production of that offspring?

Thanks.

[JackBean]

well, you probably won't get your traits in first generation. And you probably won't even start only with 2 parents, because you will probably want to keep your animals for several generations, so you will need more animals.