Biotechnology in the Animal Science Industry

a. Animal cloning – 1) For product uniformity such as drumstick uniformity in the poultry industry.

a. Animal cloning –.2) Saving endangered species – Even with the best conservation efforts, whole species of animals continue to disappear. If new animals could be reproduced from the tissue of the few remaining animals, many endangered species might be saved.

a. Animal cloning – 3) Research purposes - probably the greatest advantage of cloned animals is their usefulness in research studies. Genetically identical animals are better for research studies that try to isolate one variable.

b. Improving animals’ performance through manipulation of genes. These techniques are not as well developed yet.

a. BST (Bovine somatotropin) A hormone produced in the pituitary gland of cattle that increases milk production. Through the method of gene splicing genetic material into E. coli bacteria, the hormone is produced at relatively low cost. If dairy cows are given a supplementary dose of BST they will produce more milk.

b. Artificial Insemination (AI) This process involves the introduction of the male sperm into the reproductive tract of a female by means other than the natural mating process. Most of the cows in the dairy industry are produced through AI.

c. Embryo Transfer The transferring of embryos from one female to another. With embryo transfer, one female can produce many calves in a year due to a process known as superovulation which causes the donor animal to release several eggs instead of just one. A superior female can be fertilized by genetics from a superior male and the resulting embryos implanted into inferior female animals.