Application of biotechnology to increase livestock productivity in Latin America

Abstract

Biotechnology has given rise to organisms that improve quality and consistency of foods of animal and plant origin; or that clean up oil spills or eliminate heavy metals from delicate ecosystems. Tissue culture methodology has produced new plant germplasm that increases crop yields, providing farmers with healthier varieties. In the livestock industries healthier products of better quality are being produced in less time than with traditional methods. This document describes some of the molecular methods that have had the greatest impact in increasing livestock production and discusses the present status of the application of research in this regard. In Latin America biotechnology has affected all components of the livestock industries giving rise to a variety of products. However, the most promising biotechnologies are generated in countries where the necessary infrastructure is not subjected to financial constraints; and this situation results in a marked economic dependency on the part of less developed countries that do not invest in advanced technologies that generate patents