Final answer:
Improving animal genetics over time involves detailed record-keeping and analysis of genetic data. Traditional breeding results in unpredictable genetic shuffling, while modern genetic engineering is precise in modifying specific genes. Genomics enhances breeding by linking traits to genetics, improving quality and conservation efforts.
Step-by-step explanation:
The improvement of animal genetics over time requires detailed record-keeping and analysis of performance and genetic information throughout generations. This process encompasses various biological concepts, including the expression of genetic information, which involves cellular and molecular mechanisms, and the acknowledgment that the processing of genetic information is imperfect and is a source of genetic variation. This imperfection is a fundamental aspect of the novelty and diversity essential for the adaptation and survival of species.
In traditional breeding, all the genes between the organisms being bred are shuffled; this may result in a large number of unpredictable outcomes. Modern genetic engineering, however, is more precise, allowing for modifications to specific genes, and even enabling the transfer of genes between vastly different species, something also observed in nature via horizontal gene transfer.