Review by Kathy Lyon (Click on stars for an explanation)

This book is Out of Print. You may purchase the latest edition in the VIN store.

The book provides an overview of the genetics relevant to animal diseases and production. Molecular biology, a revolutionary aspect of our understanding of animal genetics, is reflected in many chapters. The book is intended as an accompanying volume to Veterinary Genetics (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1987). As in the first edition, references are omitted from the text. References are grouped at the end of each chapter. This was done in order to keep the book a reasonable size, but will make it more difficult to pinpoint certain passages for further exploration.

The second edition has incorporated the major issues that have occurred in genetics since the first edition was published. Most books on genetics are difficult to wade through, but this book summarizes each topic in an easy-to-read, easy-to-understand style. If you combine this with the primary text, mentioned above, you can probably make the understanding of genetics a less daunting task.

Chapters include:

• Basic Genetics
• Molecular Biology
• Single-Gene Disorders
• Chromosomal Aberrations
• Single Genes in Populations
• Familial Disorders Not Due to a Single Gene
• Is It Inherited
• Immunogenetics
• Pharmacogenetics
• Hosts, Parasites, and Pathogens
• Single Genes in Animal Breeding
• Relationships and Inbreeding
• Quantitative Variation
• Selection Between Populations
• Selection Within Populations
• Breed Structure
• Crossing
• Selection and Regular Crossing
• Biotechnology and the Future
• Conservation Genetics
• Genetic and Environmental Control of Inherited Disorders

This introductory-level text also presents a chapter on conservation genetics and offers new ideas on the control of inherited diseases.

Blackwell Publishing. ISBN: 9781405106337.