Abstract
THE importance of maternal influence on the growth of young mammals has been recognized since the earliest attempts to improve livestock production. Varro (66 B.C.) recorded recommendations for feeding sows to enhance milk production (translation by Storr-best, 1912). Studies on milk consumption of suckling pigs were reported in the 1860's. Following the extension of Mendelian genetics to quantitative traits, attempts have been made to elucidate the importance of genetic influences on maternal performance. Beginning in the 1920's and 30's, considerable effort was made to understand the relative roles of genotype and environment in specifying phenotypes. The influence of a dam on her young, through the nutrients provided by the uterus and the mammary gland, was recognized as a special case of the joint action of genotype and environment. Thus, the expression of the dam's genotype was recognized. Traits in mammals influenced by a major maternal component have additional complexity added to the characterization of the genetic variability.
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