A note on short term selection for birth weight in mice

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Abstract
Summary: A short-term selection experiment was undertaken to estimate the realized heritability for birth weight in mice.A cross of two strains was used as a base population, from which heaviest and lightest birth weight individuals were selected to initiate an up (JU) and a down (JD) selected line. Selection was applied on a within-litter basis for six generations. By the end of the experiment, the two lines differed by 0·20 ± 0·01 g. The heritability, estimated from the regression of cumulative response on cumulative selection differentials and adjusted to that of individual values, was 0·14 ± 0·02. Six-week body weight, averaged over both sexes, was higher in line JU than in JD by 1·0 ± 0·3 g at generation 6. Litter size was higher in line JU in every generation, the regression of the divergence between JU and JD on generation number being 0·13 ± 0·03.

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