Genetics and Genomics of Small Ruminants Prolificacy
A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Genetics and Genomics".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2025 | Viewed by 6043
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Prolificacy in ruminants is an important trait in both meat and wool production. In meat production systems, multiple gestations are required, although they may result in lower offspring weight gain and/or an increase in mortality. On the other hand, an excess of prolificacy limits wool production due to the high expenditure of maternal resources on breeding rather than on fiber generation. Prolificacy depends on several environmental factors such as age, physiological status, or diet, among others; however, genetics have a fundamental impact. Knowledge of the genetic predisposition of herds regarding the size of the offspring could help in achieving the production objective: the management and feeding of the animals. Genetic and genomic methodologies allow the detection of new variants related to prolificacy that could be used as a criterion for selection in small ruminants.
The aim of this Special Issue is to present original papers and/or reviews on the genetics and genomics of small ruminant prolificacy focused on the search for genes that could be used as selection tools or focused on the improvement of prolificacy using classical selection with the use of new genetic evaluation methodologies. Other topics regarding the economic, health or production impacts of prolificacy will also be considered.
Dr. Gabriel Anaya Calvo-Rubio
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- prolificacy
- ruminants
- gene
- genomic
- selection
- improvement
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