You are here

Enhancing livestock resilience and adaptability to environmental challenge, while protecting and enriching genetic diversity

Enhancing livestock resilience and adaptability to environmental challenge, while protecting and enriching genetic diversity

  • Livestock Improvement
  • 2022-2027
Sustainable Development icon: decent work and economic growth
Sustainable Development icon: industry, innovation and infrastructure
Sustainable Development icon: responsible consumption and production

Challenges

Scottish agriculture faces significant challenges associated with changing policy, markets, environment, and technology. The agriculture sector needs to maintain and increase profitability by responding to changing market conditions while contributing to Scottish Government commitments on greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity. The application of genetics is a cost-effective way to improve the productivity and sustainability of livestock, as progress is permanent, sustainable, and cumulative. Genetic improvement is estimated to have resulted in 50-90% of the overall animal improvements over the last 60 years. It is a driver for the improvements in efficiency, productivity, and sustainability of Scotland’s livestock sector. However, despite widespread uptake of genetic improvement in some sectors, such improvements have not been disseminated across the entire Scottish livestock population, particularly in the beef cattle and sheep sectors.

Failing to include genetic diversity and adaptability in selective breeding programmes has serious negative effects on the sustainability of the livestock sector. Maintaining genetic diversity and enhancing farm animal adaptability to the environment are key drivers of long-term sustainability and acceptability of livestock production in Scotland and beyond. Unmonitored directional selective breeding may compromise both diversity and the animal’s capacity to cope with and thrive in an ever-changing environment.

Questions

  • How can we improve livestock for the biodiversity and climate change crises through genetics and nutrition, feeds, and management?
  • How can we protect genetic diversity in livestock whilst promoting wider biodiversity in agriculture?

Solutions

The overall aim of this project is to address genetic diversity in combination with animal adaptability in cattle and sheep. The project is using genomic data to derive multiple measurements of diversity and is identifying regions associated with animal adaptability. Our insights are being integrated into selective breeding programmes aiming to achieve genetic improvement while protecting and enriching diversity and livestock sustainability in Scotland.

 

Measurements of genomic diversity and association with animal performance

We are measuring the benefits of genomic diversity in relation to animal performance. We are combing existing genome-wide animal (cattle and sheep) genotypes from existing sources with the results of the analysis being combined with previous pedigree and genomic inbreeding estimates from earlier projects and compared across species (cattle and sheep). Subsequent analyses will determine the association between diversity measurements and animal traits and adaptability. These results will demonstrate the benefit of genetic diversity in terms of animal performance.

 

Genomic analysis of livestock adaptability

The next part of this project is examining the association of genetic diversity indicators with animal adaptability. The same animal genotypes are being combined with environmental data, such as weather variables, and analysed in genome-wide association studies. We are determining how variation in weather measurements relates to genomic differences among individual animals. We are identifying genomic breeding values for climate resilience to reveal holistically the genomic background of animal adaptability and resilience.

 

Evaluating breeding strategies to inform future genetic improvement programmes

The last part of this project is investigating ways to incorporate the results our analyses into breeding programmes for optimal resource management and sustainable production in diverse environments. We have algorithms available that generate simulated data mimicking the structure of the UK cattle and sheep breeding populations and apply different selection scenarios. The algorithms are being used in a series of simulation studies that will assess alternative breeding strategies aiming to achieve genetic improvement while protecting and enhancing genetic diversity. Different degrees of relative emphasis are being examined to determine the most desirable balance. These outcomes are informing the optimal selection and usage policies of breeding individual animals to achieve both genetic progress in traits of socioeconomic interest and diversity enrichment.

Project Partners

Scotland’s Rural College

Progress

2022 / 2023
2022 / 2023

To establish a project database, animal pedigree and genotypic data were collated from multiple sources. Data from more than 100,000 sheep and cattle have already been collected, quality checked and compiled. The development and testing of computational algorithms for the analysis of these data has commenced. This development is progressing satisfactorily, with the first genetic diversity measurements already being derived. Thus far, results are confirming the suitability of genomic and pedigree data for the assessment of genetic diversity and reveal possible differences between breeds. In the second year work will continue towards completing the development of the computational algorithms, and further calculations of genetic diversity indicators in the studied populations.

Previous Projects 

Related Projects

Improvement of Livestock

To improve livestock for traits and management practices important for sustainability of livestock farming at an animal and farm system level. The work will focus on improving animal health and welfare, improving the quality and health attributes of meat and milk products, and increasing animal/farm system resilience (i.e. the ability of animals or management systems to cope...

  • Livestock Improvement
  • 2016-2022