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Challenges and Opportunities in Genetic Improvement of Local Livestock Breeds

Year of publication 2015

Place of publication Lausanne, Switzerland ;

Pages 7p.

Author Biscarini Filippo, Nicolazzi Ezequiel L., Stella Alessandra, Boettcher Paul J., Gandini Gustavo

Publisher Frontiers Media S.A. ;

Product type Article

Synopsis (short abstract) Sufficient genetic variation in livestock populations is necessary both for adaptation to future changes in climate and consumer demand, and for continual genetic improvement of economically important traits. Unfortunately, the current trend is for reduced genetic variation, both within and across breeds. The latter occurs primarily through the loss of small, local breeds. Inferior production is a key driver for loss of small breeds, as they are replaced by high-output international transboundar y breeds. Selection to improve productivity of small local breeds is therefore critical for their long term survival. The objective of this paper is to review the technology options available for the genetic improvement of small local breeds and discuss their feasibility. Most technologies have been developed for the high-input breeds and consequently are more favorably applied in that context. Nevertheless, their application in local breeds is not precluded and can yield significant benefits, e specially when multiple technologies are applied in close collaboration with farmers and breeders. Breeding strategies that require cooperation and centralized decision-making, such as optimal contribution selection, may in fact be more easily implemented in small breeds.

Open Acess Article. This article is academically peer reviewed and published externally. This article is published in Frontiers in Genetics Volume 6, page 33, 25 February 2015

Cite this content as:

Biscarini Filippo, Nicolazzi Ezequiel L., Stella Alessandra, Boettcher Paul J., Gandini Gustavo. (2015). Challenges and opportunities in genetic improvement of local livestock breeds. Frontiers in Genetics. Vol. 6. pp. 33. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2015.00033

Language English

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