Genetic Resources for Livestock Production

Abstract

The subject of genetic resources for livestock production is viewed within the context of appropriate management of animal germplasm for its better use and towards its conservation, particularly when the integrity of these valuable resources is threatened. Animal diversity and variability is first visited with examples of small ruminants, including sheep and camelids, which serve a large population of small-scale resource-poor farmers in developing countries. Sheep were selected as an example of a species that is widely distributed with a range of adaptations and breeds. On the contrary, the Andean camelids (Llama and alpaca) illustrate the case of a species with limited availability of breeds or subpopulations. Within the existing diversity, cases involving gene prolificacy and breeding seasonality are also discussed, to reflect the important effect of genetic x environment interactions on animal productivity. Threats to the integrity of animal diversity, involving a number of forces of change, which are an integral part of the world trend of deterioration of natural resources, are then visited.