Answer:
If genetic technology becomes more efficient and affordable, the primary farming applications of transgenesis and cloning likely will be to produce animals with increased growth, improved feed conversion, leaner meat, increased muscle mass, improved wool quality, improved disease resistance, and increased reproductive potential.
Step-by-step explanation:
The technology also can be used to produce food of improved nutritional quality (nutraceuticals) or appeal.
The primary difference between traditional breeding and genetic engineering is the speed at which change typically occurs (although naturally occurring mutations and recombination events also can cause rapid and dramatic change), and the single-gene nature of genetically engineered change. Traditional methods of selection are more likely to be subject to the checks and balances imposed by natural selection. Many related and apparently unrelated traits are correlated genetically; thus, selective breeding involves selecting for a whole phenotype rather than a single gene product. Because most production and behavioral traits in livestock are polygenic and our understanding of livestock genomes is poor, few traits can reliably and predictably be engineered or introduced by manipulating only one gene (Moore and Mepham, 1995). For this reason, the production of a line of transgenics will require generations of selective breeding after the introduction of gene constructs into the founder generation to ensure that animals display the desired phenotype with few or no undesirable side effects.