P

Glossary

Parentage testing The exclusion of relationship when an animal has a genotype inconsistent to a putative relationship.

Parturition The act of giving birth.

Pedigree A tabulation of ids and names of an individual’s ancestors. Pedigree information is used to establish genetic relationships among individuals to use in genetic evaluations.

Peer-to-peer system (P2P) Computer network that relies on the computing power and bandwidth of the participants in the network rather than concentrating it on a relatively few number of servers.

Performance data The record of the individual animal for production, reproduction, feed intake or carcass merit.

Performance testing The systematic collection of performance data on an individual.

Performance traits An alternative term used to describe recorded traits.

pH Degree of acidity or alkalinity.

Phenotype The set of observable characteristics of an animal.

Polygenic A trait controlled by many genes and their interactions.

Polymorphism The existence of two or more alleles at a gene locus in a population.

Postpartum After the birth of an individual.

Postpartum interval The number of days between parturition and the first postpartum oestrus.

Post-weaning growth Growth from weaning to yearling.

Predictor trait A trait that can be measured easily on an animal and which is highly correlated to a relevant production trait. An example is scrotal circumference in the case of male fertility.

Preweaning gain Weight gained between birth and weaning.

Primiparous Female giving birth for first time.

Productive herd life The period of time between the start of production and the end of productive life.

Progeny The offspring of the parents.

Progeny Test The evaluation procedure of an animal based on the performance of its progeny.

Puberty The age at which the reproductive organs become functionally operative and secondary sex characteristics begin to develop.