Transgenesis techniques and its application in poultry production

Abstract

The advent of DNA recombinant technology and the possibility of gene transfer between organisms of different species have presented a wide range of possibilities for the improvement of livestock production. This is demonstrated by the recent progress in gene transfer, animal cloning and assisted reproductive techniques in the field of livestock transgenesis. The ability to introduce foreign DNA into the genome of an organism has proven to be one of the most efficient tools in animal breeding and modern biology. Transgenesis is applied in production of therapeutic proteins, improvement of economic traits such as meat quality, disease resistance, feed conversion efficiency; as well as protection of humans from zoonotic diseases. Thus, transgenic technologies may revolutionalize the production of poultry birds with improved meat quality, low fats, low cholesterol as well as disease resistance in addition to production of biopharmaceutical products with efficiencies far greater than any conventional breeding methods.

KEYWORDS: Gene transfer, usefulness, poultry production, techniques.