The DNA of rare goat breeds in France reveals secrets of paternity
Many of the world's indigenous livestock breeds are dying out at alarming rate as commercial breeds take over. In Europe, more than 20% of breeds are at risk, according to FAO. DNA analysis is now enabling conservationists to do a better job of maintaining them.
Local breeds are often better suited to their environments than commercially marketed animals, which are bred for high yields and short-term profitability. We must preserve the genetic heritage of local breeds as a source of diversity, so that farmers can grow animals adapted to changing climatic conditions.
To preserve endangered breeds for the long run, genebanks store frozen sperm and embryos from selected animals. Later, this material can be easily used to breed most domestic species with artificial insemination.
When conservation programs were set up 30 years ago in France, as in the rest of Europe, there was little information on the males, such as their pedigrees and kinship. This has changed with the evolution of technology. The genomic tools available today allow us to study the structure of the animals’ DNA, which in turn tells us directly about pedigrees and kinship.
As part of a recent EU H2020 IMAGE project, scientists received fresh insights into the male goats whose sperm is stored in the French genebank. The researchers analyzed the genetic material of the goats in the genebank and compared it with the DNA of living animals.
The results were quite surprising and very interesting for the breeders’ associations, according to Coralie Danchin, who works on French goat rare breeds.
“We discovered, for example, that two males we thought were full brothers, since they were born from the same litter, are actually half siblings” Danchin said. “It looks like their dam was bred by two different males on the same day”.
Previously, it was assumed that in goats multiple births, twins or triplets, all had the same father. While this would be true if there were only one buck in the flock, if there are several it is possible that each goat kid had a different father. The DNA analysis confirms that this does happen.
The findings mean that researchers have much more precise information about pedigrees, and that will help breeders to carry out more precise analysis of the inheritance of important traits that may be important in adapting to climate change. DNA will also help farmers to choose the most appropriate males from which to collect semen to store in the genebank.
More info about French goat conservation programs:
French genebank
Guess the goat race (Quiz in French)
