In order to apply the emerging ability to manipulate genes to poultry improvement, it will be necessary to identify, clone, and understand genes that have economic potential. The rapid developments in cloning methods have made it possible to clone genes that have a defined protein product. Some such genes have been cloned from the chicken and from mammals. Those genes known to influence immune response and disease resistance or involved in the hormonal regulation of growth and reproduction have potential for cloning and manipulation. A far more difficult problem is the identification of clonable genes that influence quantitative traits. However, the collaboration of quantitative geneticists and molecular biologists should lead to innovative approaches to identify new genes influencing productivity traits.
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L. B. Crittenden (1986) studied this question.