The camel population in India is facing a severe decline which demands that immediate steps are taken to ensure its conservation. Characterisation is an integral part of the conservation program. The Polymerase Chain Reaction-Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA profile of unrelated camels of the Bikaneri (29), Jaisalmeri (30) and Kachchhi (18) breeds were analyzed. Reproducible polymorphic bands with varying frequencies among the three breeds of camel were obtained with five oligonucleotide primers. A total of 75 bands were amplified, of which 27 (36%) were polymorphic. The probability of obtaining identical fingerprints was observed to be the lowest in primer GC-10 (5.7%) followed by OP-08 (8.7%), GT-10 (11.3%), G-2 (15.5%) and G-1 (80%). Breed informative bands were amplified. The maximum genetic variability was observed in the Bikaneri (0.80±0.05) followed by the Kachchhi (0.84±0.06) and the Jaisalmeri (0.87±0.05) breeds. The inter-breed genetic distance estimates indicated a closer relationship in the Bikaneri-Kachchhi camels, (0.075), followed by the Jaisalmeri-Kachchhi (0.106) and Bikaneri-Jaisalmeri (0.132) breeds. A similar genetic relationship was observed when the degree of population subdivision was measured between the Bikaneri-Kachchhi (0.529), Jaisalmeri-Kachchhi (0.558) and Bikaneri-Jaisalmeri (0.566) breeds.

This study aimed at determining the socio-economic roles, traditional management practices and production constraints of the Fipa cattle, was conducted in Rukwa region of South-Western Tanzania, using a structured questionnaire. The results indicate that most (90.8 percent) of the respondents depended on crop and livestock production for household income and food security. The Fipa cattle were preferred to other cattle strains by most (91.6 percent) of the farmers owing to their multiple socio-economic functions, adaptive qualities and low management requirements. The Fipa cattle were essentially kept for provision of draught power, income, manure, meat and security against uncertainties. Herded grazing on communal land was practiced by most (99.2 percent) of the farmers all the year-round without any supplementation. However, most (87.5 percent) farmers utilized crop residues in situ during the dry season, after harvesting cereal crops. Kraals made of untreated thorny bushes were the predominant shelters used for Fipa cattle by most (95.8 percent) of the respondents. The majority of respondents mentioned diseases/parasites (94.2 percent) and feed shortages (61.7 percent) during the dry season as the main production constraints. The farmers’ preference for Fipa cattle coupled with the multiple roles of the cattle and traditional management practices used by farmers should be used as the entry point for improvement and sustainable utilization of the strain.

El objetivo del presente trabajo fue estimar la variabilidad y las relaciones filogenéticas entre 6 razas de ganado criollo colombiano, cebú Brahman y la española Pirenaica, mediante el uso de 12 marcadores moleculares tipo microsatélite. El número promedio de alelos fue de 11.58 con los valores más altos para los marcadores HEL 13 y ETH 10. La heterocigocidad promedio de todas las razas fue de 0.7 y el coeficiente de endogamia fue de 0.097, con los valores más altos para la raza Romosinuano. Los mayores valores de diversidad se presentaron en la raza Casanareño. La distancia genética entre las razas criollas colombianas y la raza española Pirenaica fue amplia (0.7–1.7) indicando posiblemente poca intervención de esta raza en el origen de las razas criollas. En general, las mayores distancias genéticas se presentaron entre las razas de origen Bos taurus (razas criollas colombianas y Pirenaica) con respecto a la Bos indicus (Brahman).

The American Shire horse breed is currently listed in “critical condition”, the most serious threat category assigned by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy. Despite concern for the breed's future, however, a thorough genetic analysis of the breed has not been conducted to date. Pedigree data from 85 671 Shire horses born between 1806 and 2011 were used to determine current and historical genetic variability in the Shire horse since the first imported animals arrived from the United Kingdom to the United States. From this larger dataset, a reference population of 1 152 animals representing the most current generation was defined. Effective population size was 330.5, with 832 total founders and high pedigree completeness (98.2 percent) to five generations. Effective number of founders, ancestors and genomes were 104.5, 28.6 and 13.9, respectively. Average inbreeding coefficient was 2.4 percent from complete pedigree data and 1.3 percent when the most recent five generations were considered. Demographic analysis also revealed a population bottleneck in the 1950s. The ten most influential male and female ancestors contributed 48.5 percent and 11.6 percent, respectively, to the reference population, and only three foundation sires are responsible for 95.6 percent of all sire lines in the current generation. Although current assessment of genetic variability indicates a relatively healthy population, the small number of breeding animals, low birth rates and steady rise in inbreeding coefficients mark the American Shire as an at-risk breed for which conservation strategies should be considered.

Found throughout the dry regions of Africa, the Sahel goat represents about 80% of Niger's goats. In accordance with national breeding policy in Niger and with a view to better planning management of that genetic resource at local and national levels, its phenotypic characterization has been conducted in the northwestern part of the country from July 2011 to May 2012. Based on the voluntary participation of farmers, investigations to characterize the quantitative parameters (height at withers and rump, body length, chest girth, chest depth, hip width and length of horns and ears) focused on 443 goats (77% female, 39% adult) distributed in 145 farms and 60 sites (7,38 ± 6,87 animals/site) in the Tillabéri, Tahoua and Niamey regions. Biometric indexes analysis coupled with analysis of variance and multivariate analysis (ACP, AFD) showed that the study area goat has four morphological subtypes (Tillabéri, Tahoua, Niamey and an intermediate Niamey-Tillabéri). Due to the coexistence of several breeds (local and exotic) in Niamey and consequences like genetic mixing, the Sahel goat can correspond to two subtypes: a large one (64.98 ± 6.77 and 68.27 ± 5.91 cm at withers and rump respectively), long ears and horns (20.3 ± 3.08 and 14.75 ± 4.43 cm) in Tillabéri and another large one (60.71 ± 10.81 and 62.46 ± 10.65 cm at wither and rump), shorter ears and horns (12.32 ± 3.62 and 9.95 ± 4.01 cm) in Tahoua.

The Ongole cattle breed, also known as Nellore, is the native of the coastal districts Guntur, Prakasham and Nellore of Andhra Pradesh. This is a dual-purpose breed. Bullocks are very powerful and suitablefor ploughing and cart pulling. These animals are resistant to various insect-born diseases. The coat colour of Ongoles is glossy white but some maleshave grey markings on their hump and grey markings on the back quarters have also been noticed. The animals of this breed are heavy having long/large ears, dewlap, hump, limbs and barrel. The size of a tail, neck and horns is in general short. Ears are alert with a moderately short black tip. Horns are short and stumpy. The dewlap is large, fan shaped, fleshy and slightly pendulous. The udder is well formed with well-placed and developed teats. A survey was conducted in 60 villages in the breeding tract and 7 341 cattle true to the breed (Ongole) type were found. A genetic improvement/conservation programme for Ongoles is being executed by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research in collaboration with Acharya N G Ranga Agricultural University, Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh). The progress of the programme was presented.

The Majorcan Black Pig is the only autochthonous pig breed from the island of Majorca (Spain). It is characterised by a medium size body (160 kg), slate-grey skin colour, and concave profile of the nose, large pendulous ears and tassels on the bottom neck. It is well adapted to the low-level breeding and feeding conditions of the traditional extensive management on the island. It is the base of some traditional high quality products such as the “sobrasada”, sort of red highly seasoned sausage that can be spread over bread, for which there is a good demand in the Spanish market. The Majorcan Black Pig breed played an important social and economic role until the 1960s, which then declined with the introduction of the intensive production systems and foreign breeds. The Majorcan Black Pig Association was founded in the early 1980s by a group of private farmers to recover and conserve the breed. Recently, this association has been officially recognised and the official Majorcan Black Pig Herd Book set up. At present, there are more than 600 animals registered.

A total of 700 adult female goats from Sétif area (Algeria), were investigated for eight qualitative morphological traits and 17 body measurements. Sampling included three environmental areas: Northern, Central and Southern area. Coefficients of variation ranged from 10.9 percent to 34.7 percent, showing high heterogeneity. Canonical analyses showed that differences in body measurements between the three area-populations were large and significant in all traits (P < 0.001). The shortest Mahalanobis distance was found between North-Center populations (2.8), while that between Center (4.0) and (8.6) between North-South populations were the largest. Discriminant analysis showed that most goat-populations were classified into their environmental-area, North (73.0 percent), Center (66.8 percent) and South (79.3 percent) with a few misclassified individuals. Correspondence analysis indicated no large differences between the goat populations; they were more homogeneous for qualitative traits. This information will constitute the basis for further characterization and develop conservation strategies for Algerian goat populations

This study characterized indigenous chicken (IC) ecotypes morphologically. Five IC ecotypes studied were Kakamega (KK), Siaya (BN), West Pokot (WP), Narok (NR) and Bomet (BM). Data on morphological features were collected from 1 580 chickens and 151 for zoometric measurements. Descriptive statistics, non-parametric and F tests were used in analysis. A non-parametric Kruskal–Wallis, Binomial test and Mann–Whitney U test was used to evaluate whether the ecotype have effects on the qualitative morphological variables. Zoometric measurements was analysed with the PROC GLM of SAS. Results revealed that, black, black-white striped, brown and red body plumage colours were significantly different (P < 0.05) between the ecotypes. Feather morphology (%) were not significantly different (P > 0.05). Distribution of body feathers (%), comb types (%) and zoometric measurements were significantly different (P < 0.05). Eye colours varied significantly (P < 0.001) within the ecotypes unlike between the populations. In conclusion, IC ecotypes studied are heterogeneous population with huge variability in morphological features.

An exploratory survey of local cattle populations of Gamo Goffa Zone in south-western Ethiopia was conducted between April 2011 and May 2012 to identify and phenotypically characterize cattle populations. Ten focus group discussions with key informants as well as phenotypic data from sample mature animals were used to generate data, including quantitative trait data from 560 animals and qualitative trait data from 867 animals. Findings from focus group discussions revealed that, even if local cattle are found widely distributed throughout the study area, they are not known by any common name or breed type. Results from analysis of variance (ANOVA) on continuous variables showed significant (P < 0.0001) differences between sites. Tukey's multiple mean comparison test showed that each quantitative traits were significant (P < 0.0001) for sites. Chi-square test was also significant (P < 0.0001) for most of the categorical variables per sites. Based on a discriminant analysis, sample populations were classified into their respective sites with overall hitting rate was 63.15 percent for females and 74.89 percent for males. Canonical discriminant (CANDISC) analysis showed quantitative traits and Mahalanobis' distances between sites were significant (P < 0.0001). The stepwise discriminant (STEPDISC) analysis for both populations showed that most variables had significant (P < 0.0001) power in explaining phenotypic variation. These information from focus group discussions and phenotypic variation analyses led to identification of two cattle populations that deemed to be distinct breed types (Gamo highland and lowland). Thus, indigenous cattle population of the study area was not homogenous on their phenotypic features, and further genetic characterization should be done to confirm their genetic distinctiveness.

The population of llamas (Lama glama) from Argentina and southern Bolivia high altitude plateau (altiplano) meets special characteristics in relation to the rest of this species. While interest in this population has been established as a genetic resource many works have not been done describing their productive attributes. In this paper, the relationships between age, sex, animal morphology, coat colours (pigmentation patterns and white spot design), fibre quality (degree of fineness and mean fibre diameters, fleece types or styles and colours) of flocks in six areas of the northern of the province of Jujuy altiplano (143 flocks, 10760 animals) were established. Using a clusters experimental design, frequencies of the different characters and correlation coefficients between them were calculated. Relationships between fleece types, morphology of animals and fleece types between them, fleece types and fineness, fleece types and pigmentation patterns, the relationship between white spot design and fineness was established. It can be concluded that the domestic camelids populations studied here were composed of animals with high fibre production potential and have great possibilities for improvement through breeding programs.

The study was conducted to characterize the variations in physical characters and some important feather and skin mutations observed in different populations of native chickens of West Bengal and Sikkim, India. The data encompassing eight different phenotypes such as, naked neck chicken, frizzled chicken, muffed/bearded chicken, creeper chicken, crested chicken, rumpless chicken, feathered shank chicken and fibromelanosis chicken, were collected from six districts of West Bengal and two districts of Sikkim. Seven qualitative traits such as colour of the egg shell, feather, skin, shank, comb and earlobe as well as the type of feather, and three quantitative traits such as shank length, egg weight and body weight, were assessed in a total of 2 170 fowls of both sexes. The data were analysed statistically using descriptive statistics, the differences in means were compared using Duncan's multiple range test and χ2 was used for non-parametric characters. Each of the populations had multiple variants and mixed feather colours were seen in most of the chickens while the feather, skin and shank colours were all black in fibromelanosis chickens. The shank colour was predominantly blue, followed by yellow and white. The skin colour in most of the chickens was white. Most of the chickens had a single comb (except for the crested chicken). The highest body weight was observed in the desi chicken while the rumpless chicken weighed the least. The egg-shell colour varied between cream and light brown in all the flocks except for the fibromelanosis chicken whose egg-shell colour was tinted bluish. The highest recorded egg weight was observed in the naked neck chicken, whereas the hatchability and egg weight were the lowest for the rumpless chicken. In the recent years, it has been observed that there is a significant reduction in the population of native chickens. This may be attributed to the restocking with Rhode Island Red and synthetic Kruilor chickens following the avian influenza outbreaks in the region. Hence, immediate steps need to be taken to preserve whatever is left in the native chicken ecotypes in the region.

In the Sundarbans area of West Bengal (India) there is a breed of microsheep (adult weight 10–14 Kg.) with a very high prolificacy (227%).

This breed may be a valuable source of prolificacy for sheep in India. There are also reasons to believe that it is resistant to footrot. A conservation policy is necessary to preserve this hitherto neglected animal genetic resource.

This investigation explored the ability to distinguish the morphological and heat-tolerant traits of Nigerian indigenous, exotic and cross-bred turkeys using multivariate discriminant analysis. A total of 228 turkeys that were 20 weeks old were utilized in the study. The body parameters measured were body weight (BW), body length (BL), shank length (SL), thigh length (TL), keel length (KL), breast girth (BG), rectal temperature (RT), pulse rate (PR), respiratory rate (RR) and heat stress index (HI). Analysis of variance revealed that the exotic turkeys had significantly (p < 0.05) higher values than Nigerian indigenous and cross-bred turkeys in all the morphological traits with the exception of TL. However, the indigenous and cross-bred turkeys appeared to have more adaptive capability than the exotic ones based on their low HI. Sexual dimorphism was observed only in the morphological traits with male birds having significantly (p < 0.05) higher BW, BL, SL, TL and KL than that in females. However, the stepwise discriminant analysis revealed that BW, TL and HI were the most discriminating variables to separate the three genetic groups. The longest Mahalanobis distance was observed between the indigenous and exotic turkeys (36.68) while the shortest distance was recorded for the indigenous turkeys and their cross-bred counterparts (7.97). The canonical plot revealed the heterogeneity of the turkey populations as the birds clustered separately. In the nearest-neighbour discriminant analysis, 100.00, 98.73 and 96.43 percent of exotic, cross-bred and indigenous turkeys were correctly assigned into their source genetic groups. The present findings could aid the implementation of a conservation and improvement strategy of indigenous turkeys towards sustainable development of animal genetic resources.

Animals should have the capacity to adapt to changing environmental pressures to ensure sustainable productivity. The easier an animal can adapt to disease burdens without extra cost to the farmer, the more profitable the enterprise becomes. Effective immune response protects organisms against disease insults and contributes to improved productivity. Primary immune response of Ghanaian local, Sasso T-44 and broiler chickens to sheep red blood cell (SRBC) antigens was measured 5 days post-inoculation. Antibody levels were determined by haemagglutination. Local ecotypes and Sasso T-44 chicken were superior to broilers in terms of their ability to respond to antigens. Female chickens produced more antibodies in response to increased concentration of SRBC antigens while the opposite was true in the male population. Further investigation of the genetic correlation between production performance and immune response of various chicken breeds will help establish the effect of, for example, high growth rate of broilers on their immunological status.

Deoni is an important dual-purpose breed of cattle in Maharashtra. These animals are mainly found in the Latur district and the adjoining area of Prabhani, Nanded and Osmanabad districts of the Marathwada region of Maharashtra. From 1996 to 1999, a systematic survey was conducted in 13 strata involving 69 villages to determine geographic distribution, establish breed characteristics, determine socioeconomic status and existing management practices as well as to estimate the approximate population of Deoni cattle in its breeding tract. The total number of households enumerated was 9 132. The average herd size was 2.5 animals with a range of 1 to 16. About 30 percent of farmers were found rearing Deoni cattle. The total population of the Deoni in the entire breeding tract was estimated at 118 945. A decrease in Deoni cattle population (8.78 percent) was also noticed from August 1996 to August 1998.

Deoni is a medium heavy animal. It is found in three-colour variations viz.Wannera, Balankya and Shevera. The body is moderately developed and symmetrical with distinct muscles. Horn length, ear length, head length, chest girth, body length and height averaged 17.61, 26.18, 49.82, 151.82, 120.11 and122.22 cm in adult cows and 19.97, 26.67, 53.68, 163.55, 129.59 and 134.36 cm in bullocks. Lactation milk yield averaged 868 litres. The average fat content in the milk of Deoni cows was 4.3 percent. Cows showed their first estrus at the average age of 36 months. Average age at first calving was 46 months. Service period and inter-calving period averaged 170 and 447 days. The selected bulls started breeding at the age of 30 months. Calf and adultmortality was found to be negligible and the breed was found to be hardy and well adapted to tropical draught prone areas. The declining trend of the Deoni cattle breed calls for immediate steps to control the reasons. Regarding conservation and improvement, both models need to be implemented effectively to make the programme successful.

The Muzaffarnagari is the largest and heaviest sheep breed of India. It is well adapted to the hot humid irrigated regions. This breed is generally found in the Muzaffarnagari, Bulandshahr, Saharanpur, Meerut, Bijnor and Dehradun districts of Uttar Pradesh and in some parts of Delhi and Haryana. The fast body growth coupled with high feed conversion efficiency are the main characteristics of this breed. The animals are medium to large in size, having slight convex face lines. The coat is generally white and dense but relatively coarse and the head is large with long and drooping ears. Both male and females are polled. The tail is very long and extends to the fetlock joint. The average body weights at birth, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months of age were 3.49±0.04, 15±0.20, 26.5±3.56, 30.4&0.40 and 33.4±0.46 kg, respectively.

La chèvre Draa est la seule des populations caprines marocaines qui peut être considérée comme une race bien distincte. C'est une sorte d'isolat génétique qui est localisée et élevée principalement dans les oasis de la vallée du Draa à un climat aride. Il ressort des études réalisées que le potentiel laitier de la chèvre Draa est satisfaisant (142 litres sur 150j de lactation). De même, l’évaluation des ses performances de reproduction en station a montré une prolificité de 158 % avec une aptitude à réaliser deux mises bas par an.

De plus, la chèvre Draa présente quelques capacités adaptatives pour produire et survivre dans les conditions arides. En effet, son turnover de l'eau corporelle est relativement faible comparativement aux races caprines européennes étudiées dans les mêmes conditions expérimentales. Enfin, la chèvre Draa présente une bonne capacité à préserver l'appétit en cas de privation d'eau. Ces caractéristiques de production et d'adaptation, prises ensemble, font d'elle un bon candidat pour le développement d'une race caprine laitière marocaine et pour continuer les efforts pour sa préservation, son amélioration et la connaissance de ses caractéristiques physiologiques.

The field of economics of agrobiodiversity (ABD) conservation and sustainable use has developed rapidly during recent years. A state-of-the-art review found that advances have indeed eased methodological/analytical constraints. A wide range of decision-support tools and analytical approaches have been successfully tested. These have been shown to provide good estimates of value and be useful for answering policy-relevant questions.

Yet despite this, this field would appear to have had relatively little influence on “real-life” ABD conservation policy design and implementation. An analysis of the national reports in the FAO's (2007) State of the World's AnGR (SoW) supports this view and reveals, at best, a patchy recognition of the importance of valuation and the potential future role of economics in the design of cost-effective conservation programmes. Potential reasons for this include a lack of awareness regarding the existence of appropriate methods and decision-support tools, data availability issues and a lack of capacity to both collect the necessary data through participatory mechanisms as well as to carry out the subsequent analysis. Translating the existing recognition of the importance of economics within the Global Plan of Action on AnGR into a mainstream activity will require significant awareness raising and capacity building.