Breeding and Genetics.

The article presents abstracts from papers related to animal breeding and genetics that were published in the February 2005 issue of the "Journal of Animal Science." The paper "Growth and Carcass Traits in Crossbred Cattle From Hereford, Angus, Norwegian Red, Swedish Red and White, Friesian, and Wagyu Maternal Grandsires," by E. Casas and L.V. Cundiff, studied post-weaning growth and carcass traits on 434 steers and 373 heifers obtained by mating F1 cows to Charolais sires. The paper "Selection for an Index of Placental Efficiency and Litter Size in Swine," by H. Mesa, T.J. Safranski, K.M. Cammack, and W.R. Lamberson, estimated genetic trends and parameters for individual and litter traits using data from four generations of replicated divergent selection on an index of reproductive traits. The paper "Reproduction and Maternal Performance of F1 Cross Females Sired by Hereford, Angus, Norwegian Red-Swedish Red and White, Friesian and Wagyu Sires," by L.V. Cundiff, characterized reproduction and maternal traits of F1 cross females calving at 3 through 7 years of age in cycle VI of the Germplasm Evaluation Program at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center.