In Vivo Conservation of Animal Genetic Resources
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14 14 ISSN 1810-0708 FAO ANIMAL PRODUCTION AND HEALTH In vivo - The Global Plan of Action for Animal Genetic Resources, adopted in 2007, is the first internationally agreed framework for the management of biodiversity in the livestock sector. It calls for the development of technical guidelines to support conservation of animal genetic resources countries in their implementation efforts. Guidelines on the Preparation of national strategies and action plans for animal genetic resources were published in 2009 and are being complemented by a series of guideline publications addressing specific technical subjects. Conservation of animal genetic resources – ensuring that these valuable resources remain available for future use by livestock breeders – is one of the four strategic priority areas of the Global Plan of Action. These guidelines focus on conservation “in vivo”, i.e. maintaining live populations rather than storing frozen genetic material. They complement separate guidelines on Cryoconservation of animal genetic resources published in the same series. They have been endorsed by the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. In vivo conservation encompasses a range of actions that can be taken to ensure the survival of livestock breeds or populations that are threatened with guidelines extinction. These guidelines address both “in situ” conservation (supporting the continued use of threatened breeds in the livestock production systems where they have traditionally been raised) and “ex situ” conservation (maintenance of populations at sites such as conservation farms and zoos). As well as providing a wealth of information on breeding strategies for small at-risk populations, the guidelines provide advice on how to develop an effective and well-targeted national conservation strategy. They also discuss a number of specific strategies that can be employed to promote greater self-sustainability in at-risk breeds, including establishing community-based conservation programmes, promoting niche marketing and livestock-related cultural activities, and capitalizing on the use of grazing animals in landscape management and nature conservation. IN VIVO CONSERVATION OF ANIMAL GENETIC RESOURCES FAO 14 FAO ANIMAL PRODUCTION AND HEALTH guidelines IN VIVO CONSERVATION OF ANIMAL GENETIC RESOURCES COMMISSION ON GENETIC RESOURCES FOR FOOD AND AGRICULTURE FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS Rome, 2013 Recommended Citation FAO. 2013. In vivo conservation of animal genetic resources. FAO Animal Production and Health Guidelines. No. 14. Rome. The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. The views expressed in this information product are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of FAO. ISBN 978-92-5-107725-2 (print) E-ISBN 978-92-5-107726-9 (PDF) © FAO 2013 FAO encourages the use, reproduction and dissemination of material in this information product. Except where otherwise indicated, material may be copied, downloaded and printed for private study, research and teaching purposes, or for use in non-commercial products or services, provided that appropriate acknowledgement of FAO as the source and copyright holder is given and that FAO’s endorsement of users’ views, products or services is not implied in any way. All requests for translation and adaptation rights, and for resale and other commercial use rights should be made via www.fao.org/contact-us/licence- request or addressed to [email protected]. FAO information products are available on the FAO website (www.fao.org/ publications) and can be purchased through [email protected]. iii Recommended Citation FAO. 2013. In vivo conservation of animal genetic resources. FAO Animal Production and Health Guidelines. No. 14. Rome. Contents Foreword ix Acknowledgements xi Abbreviations and acronyms xiii Glossary of selected terms xv User guidance xxi SECTION 1 Reviewing the roles of animal genetic resources and options for their conservation 1 Inventorizing species, breeds and their functions 3 Describing the dynamics of the livestock sector 10 Reviewing the status and trends of animal genetic resources 12 Identifying reasons for the loss of animal genetic diversity 14 Identifying objectives for conservation 17 Reviewing the status of each breed and developing management strategies 20 The designations employed and the presentation of material in this Comparing conservation strategies 25 information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever References 29 on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or SECTION 2 boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, Identifying breeds at risk 31 whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have Determining risk status 33 been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. References 56 The views expressed in this information product are those of the author(s) and SECTION 3 do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of FAO. Determining the conservation value of a breed 57 ISBN 978-92-5-107725-2 (print) Overview 59 E-ISBN 978-92-5-107726-9 (PDF) Accounting for factors other than risk status 60 © FAO 2013 Using information from genetic markers 72 FAO encourages the use, reproduction and dissemination of material in this References 84 information product. Except where otherwise indicated, material may be copied, downloaded and printed for private study, research and teaching SECTION 4 purposes, or for use in non-commercial products or services, provided that Choosing the appropriate conservation methods 87 appropriate acknowledgement of FAO as the source and copyright holder is given and that FAO’s endorsement of users’ views, products or services is not Matching breeds and conservation methods 89 implied in any way. Reference 94 All requests for translation and adaptation rights, and for resale and other commercial use rights should be made via www.fao.org/contact-us/licence- request or addressed to [email protected]. FAO information products are available on the FAO website (www.fao.org/ publications) and can be purchased through [email protected]. iv SECTION 5 Organizing the institutions for in vivo conservation 95 Overview 97 Involving livestock keepers in community-based conservation 99 Establishing a breeders’ association 109 Auditing a breeders’ association and its activities 121 Establishing a centralized ex situ conservation programme 125 Establishing a dispersed ex situ conservation programme 129 References 133 SECTION 6 Designing the conservation programme 135 Maintaining genetic variability within small populations 137 References 155 SECTION 7 Establishing a breeding programme for conservation and sustainable use 157 Overview 159 Choosing a breeding strategy 161 Optimizing selection response and genetic variability in small populations 169 Cross-breeding for enhanced production 177 References 188 SECTION 8 Increasing the value and sustainability of conserved breeds 191 Identifying sustainable use options for breeds under conservation 193 Preparing a Biocultural Community Protocol 197 Implementing a “role model breeders” programme 203 Capitalizing on niche market production 207 Enhancing value through ties to geographical origin or cultural significance 214 Capitalizing on the roles of livestock in providing ecosystem services 222 Capitalizing on the societal and cultural functions of livestock 226 References 231 ANNEX Overview of sections, tasks and actions 235 v BOXES 1. The definition of the term “breed” 3 2. Registration of livestock breeds in India 8 3. Colour sidedness: an example of genetic diversity conserved for research 19 4. SWOT analysis of Eastern Finncattle 22 5. SWOT analysis of the Java chicken in the United States of America 23 6. Growth rate and dynamics of population size 34 7. Basic rules for computing effective population size 36 8. Estimation of population growth rate 41 9. Analysis of population data – an example 42 10. Unique alleles allow the Araucana chicken of Chile to produce natural “Easter eggs” 61 11. Botfly resistance in the Blanco Orejinegro cattle of Colombia 62 12. Values of animal genetic resources 65 13. Using choice models to value and rank breeds for conservation 67 14. Use of a simple index to prioritize three breeds for conservation 70 15. Genetic markers 74 16. Use of genetic markers to study the diversity of chickens in Southern Africa 75 17. Estimating within-breed molecular genetic diversity 76 18. The use of genetic markers for estimating genetic distances among breeds 77 19. The use of genetic markers for calculating kinships among breeds 78 20. A step-by-step example of an objective method for prioritizing breeds 80 21. Conservation