This book offers a clear, practice-oriented pathway through modern animal breeding—bridging classical quantitative genetics with contemporary genomic tools. Beginning with the history of animal breeding and the characterization of India’s major livestock and poultry breeds, it builds core fluency in economic traits, karyotyping, data correction/standardization, and variance components. Readers learn how to estimate heritability and repeatability, interpret genetic and phenotypic correlations, and design effective selection programs—from individual and family selection to pedigree, sib, and progeny testing—culminating in robust sire evaluation.

Advanced chapters introduce marker-assisted selection, gene introgression, genomic selection, and GWAS, showing how DNA-based insights accelerate accuracy and genetic gain. Mating systems are treated comprehensively: inbreeding (with coefficients, consequences, and controlled uses), outbreeding and its forms, heterosis, and selection for combining ability. The text then scales to nucleus breeding systems (open/closed), integrated breeding strategies for livestock and poultry, and targeted improvement for disease resistance and fitness traits. Practical sections on breed characterization/registration, development of new strains, national/state policies and programs, conservation methods, and the emerging landscape of sexed semen round out an India-centric, ICAR-aligned resource for UG/PG students, breeders, and extension professionals.

Key Features (at a glance)

• Worked examples and formulas for estimates

• Field-ready selection and mating templates

• Genomics and GWAS simplified for practitioners

• India’s breeds, policies, and conservation programs highlighted

1 History of Animal Breeding

2 Livestock Breeds: Description of important breeds of cattle, buffalo, sheep, goat, pig horse, donkey, camel, poultry, dog and cat.

3 Economic characters of livestock

4 Data correction and standardization of records in dairy animals

5 Study on karyotype of farm animal species

6 Heritability: Concept and methods of estimation, heritability of economic characters of livestock and poultry

7 Repeatability: Concept and methods of estimation, repeatability of economic characters of livestock and poultry

8 Genetic and Phenotypic correlations

9 Selection: Types of selection, response to selection and factors affecting it.

Bases of selection: Individual, family, sib, pedigree, progeny and combined, indirect selection. Methods of selection

10 Sire evaluation

11 Introduction to Marker Assisted Selection (MAS)

12 Introduction to Gene Introgression

13 Introduction to Genomic Selection

14 Overview of Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS)          

15 Classification of mating systems and Inbreeding: Inbreeding coefficient and coefficient of relationship. Genetic and phenotypic consequences of inbreeding. Inbreeding depression, application of inbreeding.

16 Out Breeding: Outbreeding and its different forms. Genetic and phenotypic consequences of outbreeding, application of outbreeding

17 Heterosis or Hybrid Vigour

18 Selection for combining ability

19 Nucleus breeding system: Open and closed nucleus breeding system

20 Breeding strategies for improvement of Livestock and poultry

21 Breeding for disease resistance and fitness traits in livestock

22 Breed characterization and registration

23 Development of new breeds or strains

24 Current livestock breeding policies and programmes in the state and country

25 Methods of conservation- livestock conservation programmes

26 Sexed semen: an overview

References