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A note on short term selection for birth weight in mice

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

J. Eklund
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Science, University of California Davis, California 95616, USA
G. E. Bradford
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Science, University of California Davis, California 95616, USA
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Summary

A short-term selection experiment was undertaken to estimate the realized heritability for birth weight in mice.

A cross of two strains was used as a base population, from which heaviest and lightest birth weight individuals were selected to initiate an up (JU) and a down (JD) selected line. Selection was applied on a within-litter basis for six generations. By the end of the experiment, the two lines differed by 0·20 ± 0·01 g. The heritability, estimated from the regression of cumulative response on cumulative selection differentials and adjusted to that of individual values, was 0·14 ± 0·02. Six-week body weight, averaged over both sexes, was higher in line JU than in JD by 1·0 ± 0·3 g at generation 6. Litter size was higher in line JU in every generation, the regression of the divergence between JU and JD on generation number being 0·13 ± 0·03.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1976

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