Genetic Diversity, Distribution and Conservation of Wild Animals in Captivity

A special issue of Veterinary Sciences (ISSN 2306-7381).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 May 2025 | Viewed by 984

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Guest Editor
Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBER-BAS), Sofia, Bulgaria
Interests: animals; biodiversity; genetics; phylogeny
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBER-BAS), Sofia, Bulgaria
Interests: purification, biochemical analysis and production of native and recombinant proteins; molecular diagnostics of population and species structure; bioinformatic sequences database analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria
Interests: molecular biology and molecular taxonomy; bioinformatic sequences database analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We do not know what kind of breeds will be necessary "tomorrow", how productive they will be, what foods will be needed by future humans, nor what society and ordinary people will require of us. Some thoughts, hinting that we must abandon endlessly increasing animal productivity and instead focus more on the quality of the animal products themselves, have already been sneaked through.

One of the most important problems, and today one of the most relevant, relates to the preservation of local, well-adapted animal breeds. Local breeds usually exhibit low productivity, but they are an important factor in maintaining the balance of the ecosystem in the environments they inhabit. They have a hearty constitution, superior resistance to diseases, greater adaptability to unfavorable growing conditions, are longer-lived, and possess a number of other valuable qualities. The conservation of genetic resources is necessary to maintaining genetic variability and plasticity when environmental, nutritional, and economic conditions change.

On the other hand, greater attention should also be paid to wild animal species, some of which are on the brink of extinction. The damage or destruction of natural habitats, pollution, overhunting, the modification of the climate, and dozens of other factors threaten the existence of wild animal species.

Genomic technologies are increasingly applied in ex situ and in situ population management and genomic screening is needed to identify the most suitable individuals for breeding, translocation and "genetic rescue" programs, and to avoid increasing the genetic load on the target population. In addition, knowledge gleaned from genomic techniques helps us to compare contemporary populations, as well as enabling more detailed temporal comparisons and assessment of the relationship between the scale of change of populations and time.

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in Diversity.

Dr. Peter Hristov
Dr. Georgi Radoslavov
Dr. Boiko Neov
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • genetic diversity
  • climate change
  • local animal breeds
  • wild animal species
  • sustainable ecosystem
  • preservation

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

18 pages, 2247 KiB  
Article
Evolution of Population Structure, Reproductive Performance, Inbreeding, and Genetic Diversity in Ecuadorian Charolais Cattle
by Luis F. Cartuche-Macas, Edwin F. Lozada, Miguel A. Gutiérrez-Reinoso, Edilberto Chacón, Francisco J. Navas and Manuel García-Herreros
Vet. Sci. 2024, 11(11), 566; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci11110566 - 14 Nov 2024
Viewed by 668
Abstract
The objective was to evaluate the evolution of the population structure, reproductive performance, inbreeding, and genetic diversity in Charolais cattle. Official genealogical information from the Ecuadorian Charolais Association was divided into five populations: (a) historical (total), (b) 2008–2012 (natural mating period), (c) 2013–2017 [...] Read more.
The objective was to evaluate the evolution of the population structure, reproductive performance, inbreeding, and genetic diversity in Charolais cattle. Official genealogical information from the Ecuadorian Charolais Association was divided into five populations: (a) historical (total), (b) 2008–2012 (natural mating period), (c) 2013–2017 (natural mating + artificial insemination period), (d) 2018–2022 (artificial insemination + embryo transfer period), and (e) the reference (known sires and dams) from which the population structure was evaluated using pedigree completeness and the generation interval (GI). Meanwhile, for genetic diversity (GD), inbreeding (F), average relatedness (AR), and the effective population size (Ne) were estimated. The gene origin probability (number of founders, effective number of founders/ancestors, and number of founder genomes) explaining genetic variability, reproductive efficiency, the number of offspring per sire and dam, and the average ages of parents at the birth of their offspring were determined. The database was analyzed using the ENDOG, POPREP, and CFC software programs. The results indicate that pedigree completeness and the GI decreased over time among populations, although the first generation showed higher values. The sire gametic pathway was greater in all populations. F increased over time, although not markedly. Although Ne variations were observed, the levels remained above the recommended limit value. The GD loss increased progressively over time although the most recent population was not significantly affected. Finally, the female reproductive efficiency increased over time as well. In conclusion, the Charolais cattle GI should be reduced. After 2012, the use of Assisted Reproductive Technologies and breeding schemes raised the GD loss. Finally, the F increased over time although it could be reduced using foreign genetic resources in the current Ecuadorian Charolais population. Full article
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