British Sheep Breeds as a Part of World Sheep Gene Pool Landscape: Looking into Genomic Applications
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School of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent CT2 7NJ, UK
2
L.K. Ernst Federal Research Center for Animal Husbandry, Dubrovitsy Estate, Podolsk District, Moscow Region, 142132 Podolsk, Russia
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Animals 2021, 11(4), 994; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11040994
Submission received: 16 March 2021
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Revised: 27 March 2021
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Accepted: 29 March 2021
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Published: 1 April 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetics, Genomics, Transcriptomics, Proteomics, Health and Product Quality of Small Ruminants)
Simple Summary
The UK can be proud of the fact that numerous native breeds of sheep have been developed here that possess unique phenotypic features and excellent productivity and are utilized throughout the world. Their remarkable popularity and further sustainable breeding on grass pastures of British Isles and elsewhere can benefit from genomic applications.
Abstract
Sheep farming has been an important sector of the UK’s economy and rural life for many centuries. It is the favored source of wool, meat and milk products. In the era of exponential progress in genomic technologies, we can now address the questions of what is special about UK sheep breed genotypes and how they differ genetically form one another and from other countries. We can reflect how their natural history has been determined at the level of their genetic code and what traces have been left in their genomes because of selection for phenotypic traits. These include adaptability to certain environmental conditions and management, as well as resistance to disease. Application of these advancements in genetics and genomics to study sheep breeds of British domestic selection has begun and will continue in order to facilitate conservation solutions and production improvement.
