Hillel, J., Department of Genetics, Faculty of Agriculture, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot 76100, Israel
Schaap, T., Department of Genetics, Faculty of Agriculture, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot 76100, Israel
Haberfeld, A., Department of Genetics, Faculty of Agriculture, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot 76100, Israel
Jeffreys, A.J., Department of Genetics, Faculty of Agriculture, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot 76100, Israel
Plotzky, Y., Department of Genetics, Faculty of Agriculture, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot 76100, Israel
Cahaner, A., Department of Genetics, Faculty of Agriculture, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot 76100, Israel
Lavi, U., Department of Genetics, Faculty of Agriculture, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot 76100, Israel

An application of DNA fingerprints (DFP) for gene introgression in breeding programs of both farm animals and plants is proposed. DFP loci, detectable by minisatellite probes, are extremely polymorphic. Individuals have unique patterns of DFP and thus can be selected for maximal genomic similarity to the recipient line, and minimal similarity to the donor line, using their DFP patterns as the criterion for similarity. This genomic selection (GS) can be performed at generations BC1, BC2 or both, and thus significantly reduce the required number of backcross generations in introgression breeding programs. The association between genomic and DFP similarity is demonstrated. Theoretical distributions and variances of the relative percentages of the donor and recipient genomes as the basis for the GS approach are presented.