Cockett N E
Department of Animal, Dairy and Veterinary Sciences, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USA.
Genome Dyn. 2006;2:79-85. doi: 10.1159/000095096.
Animal geneticists have been searching for the molecular basis of production traits in livestock species, including sheep, for over 40 years. Phenotypes of interest in sheep include fertility, reproduction, growth rate and efficiency, milk production, carcass quality and composition, wool characteristics, and disease resistance. The development of an ovine genome map containing molecular markers and genes has greatly advanced the identification of genetic regions containing quantitative trait loci (QTL) in sheep. Other genomic resources available for researchers investigating traits in sheep include an ovine radiation hybrid panel, large insert genomic libraries, and large-scale sequencing projects. In order to continue the identification of genes controlling important phenotypes in sheep, development of the ovine comparative map should continue.
40多年来，动物遗传学家一直在探寻包括绵羊在内的家畜品种生产性状的分子基础。绵羊身上令人感兴趣的表型包括繁殖力、繁殖情况、生长速度和效率、产奶量、胴体品质和组成、羊毛特性以及抗病性。包含分子标记和基因的绵羊基因组图谱的开发，极大地推动了绵羊中含有数量性状基因座（QTL）的遗传区域的识别。可供研究绵羊性状的研究人员使用的其他基因组资源包括绵羊辐射杂种细胞系、大插入片段基因组文库和大规模测序项目。为了继续识别控制绵羊重要表型的基因，应该继续开展绵羊比较图谱的绘制工作。
