[Molecular biological aspects of animal production]

Molecular biological methods developed for basic research have been increasingly employed in animal production. For example, individual animals can be identified by their unique DNA sequences in DNA fingerprints and their genetic relationships can be established by more detailed sequence comparisons. It is also possible to diagnose gene defects and to determine the sex of preimplantation embryos. This information can then be used as the basis for an efficient breeding program. Methods for the analysis of RNA yield information about genetic or environmental factors which influence the expression of specific genes for example genes of economic value in milk production or genes which are important for preimplantation embryo development. This information will enable further improvements in embryo transfer and associated biotechniques which promise to improve the rate of genetic improvement (NIEMANN and MEINECKE, 1993). In the following section, we will briefly describe these molecular biological methods and their applications in animal breeding using examples from current research in our research group.