Molecular identification of livestock breeds: a tool for modern conservation biology

Abstract

Global livestock genetic diversity includes all of the species, breeds and strains of domestic animals, and their variations. Although a recent census had indicated that there were 40 species and over 8000 breeds of domestic animals; for the purpose of conservation biology the diversity between and within breeds rather than species is regarded to be of crucial importance. This domestic animal genetic diversity has developed through three main evolutionary events, from speciation (about 3 million years ago) through domestication (about 12,000 years ago) to specialised breeding (starting about 200 years ago). These events and their impacts on global animal genetic resources have been well documented in the literature. The key importance of global domestic animal resources in terms of economic, scientific and cultural heritage has also been quantified. In spite of the importance, there have been a growing number of reports on the alarming erosion of domestic animal genetic Molecular Identification of Livestock Breeds: A Tool for Modern Conservation Biology 2 resources. This erosion of animal genetic resources is happening in spite of several global conservation initiatives designed to mitigate it. In this review, we discuss these conservation interventions and highlight their strengths and weaknesses. However, pivotal to the success of these conservation initiatives is the reliability of the genetic assignment of individual members within a target breed. Finally, we discuss the prospect of using improved breed identification methodologies to develop a reliable breed specific molecular identification tool that is easily applicable to populations of livestock breeds in various ecosystems. These identification tools, when developed, will not only facilitate the regular monitoring of threatened or endangered breed populations, but also enhance the development of more efficient and sustainable livestock production systems.

Analysis of pooled genome sequences from Djallonke and Sahelian sheep of Ghana reveals co-localisation of regions of reduced heterozygosity with candidate genes for disease resistance and adaptation to a tropical environment

“…> 97% and > 20x), which is suitable for “high-confidence” variant calling [52]. The advantage that sequencing has over medium or high-density SNP genotype datasets, is that it provides higher resolution and power for the detection of selection signatures over relatively short distances [53, 54]. For instance, the Illumina Ovine 50KSNP BeadChip and Illumina Bovine HD 800KSNP BeadChip only provide a SNP density of approximately 1 SNP for every 5 million and 3 million bases, respectively.…”

Resurrecting Darwin’s Niata - anatomical, biomechanical, genetic, and morphometric studies of morphological novelty in cattle

“…Our genetic and morphometric evidence clearly shows the distinctiveness of the Niata as true breed as suggested originally by Darwin 2 . The case of the Niata, which vanished sometime in the late 19 th or early 20 th century 29 , 74 , is an example for the loss of genetic diversity caused by the extinction of breeds 75 , 76 .…”

An Overview of the Use of Genotyping Techniques for Assessing Genetic Diversity in Local Farm Animal Breeds

“…Phenotype and pedigree information were traditionally used to describe a breed or identify members of a breed. Today, there are a number of marker-based techniques that are useful to analyze the genetic diversity of breeds [5,6]. Yaro et al [6] distinguished between seven different types of marker techniques that are predominantly used in animal diversity studies.…”