Animal Biodiversity Conservation Research Articles

Biobanking and use of gonadal tissues - a promising strategy for conserving wildlife from the Caatinga biome.

Biological Resource Banks (BRB) or Genetic Resource Banks (GRB) are critical tools for the conservation of animal biodiversity. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, more than 38,500 species are threatened with extinction, out of a total of 138,300 surveyed species. These banks are repositories of biological samples and data recovered and preserved for the long term by zoos, universities, research centers and other conservation organizations. In recent years, BRB have increasingly included ovarian and testicular tissues as additional options to rescue and propagate wild species, especially those at risk of extinction. After in vitro culture or grafting, gonadal tissues are potential sources of matured gametes that can be used for Assisted Reproduction Technologies while informing about gametogenesis or mechanisms involved in infertility. It therefore is crucial to properly recover, cryopreserve, and culture these tissues using species-specific protocols. Developing BRBs is currently one of the strategies to preserve species from the Caatinga biome - an exclusively Brazilian biome with a rich wild fauna that suffers from anthropogenic activities. Among wild species from this biome, studies have been primarily conducted in collared peccaries, agoutis, cavies, and armadillos to preserve their ovarian and testicular tissues. Additionally, domestic species such as the domestic cat and donkeys have been proposed as models for wild species that are phylogenetically close. This review addresses the main technical aspects involved in obtaining BRB derived from gonadal tissues in some wild species of the Caatinga biome. It reports recent advances and perspectives to use these biological materials for wildlife conservation.

Actual research on the problems of breeding, genetics and biotechnology in animal husbandry

XIX All-Ukrainian Scientific Conference of Young Scientists and Postgraduate Students with International Participation "Actual research on the problems of breeding, genetics and biotechnology in animal husbandry", which was dedicated to the Day of Science in Ukraine, took place on June 30, 2021 at the Institute of Animal Breeding and Genetics nd. a. M. V. Zubets of National Academy of Agrarian Science of Ukraine to discuss the research of young scientists and graduate students on breeding, genetics, biotechnology, reproduction and conservation of animal biodiversity.Keywords: breeding of farm animals, conservation of animal biodiversity, research in genetics and biotechnology of reproduction.

Portuguese Local Pig Breeds: Genotype Effects on Meat and Fat Quality Traits.

Simple SummaryLocal breeds are generally associated with slower growth rates, higher slaughter weights, and fatter carcasses due to genetic and rearing system characteristics. When compared to intensive pig production systems, those based on European local breeds generally provide a more favourable response to the required increase in the production of high-quality pork and pork products in sustainable chains, meeting consumer demands. Reducing costs and improving the economic viability of production systems while preserving the quality of the products obtained is of vital importance. In this work, we propose that Portuguese local pig production chains could improve their performance and productivity without compromising the quality of the final product by crossing local breeds instead of crossing with modern breeds. This could help to maintain or increase local breed populations, supporting conservation of animal biodiversity.This work investigated the contribution of cross-breeding between two local Portuguese pig breeds to the conservation of animal biodiversity and income of local pig producers. Quality traits of semimembranosus (SM), gluteus medius (GM) and dorsal subcutaneous fat (DSF) were studied in Alentejano (AL), Bísaro (BI), AL × BI, and BI × AL (Ribatejano—RI) castrated male pigs. Pigs were reared outdoors, fed ad libitum, and slaughtered at ~65 (trial 1) and 150 kg BW (trial 2). In trial 1, AL pigs showed higher SM intramuscular fat, lower total collagen, and higher soluble collagen than BI pigs, while AL × BI and BI × AL pigs showed intermediate (NS) values. AL, AL × BI, and BI × AL pigs showed higher SM myoglobin content, and AL a more intense red colour than BI pigs. Finally, AL, AL × BI, and BI × AL showed higher total lipids in DSF than BI pigs. In trial 2, SM and DSF results were similar to those obtained in trial 1. In GM, AL and BI × AL showed higher intramuscular fat than BI and AL × BI pigs, while AL, AL × BI and BI × AL showed lower total collagen content than BI pigs. In conclusion, these results suggest that RI crosses are a productive alternative, with overall muscle and DSF traits statistically not different between AL × BI and BI × AL, and similar to those observed in AL pigs.

Growth, blood, carcass and meat quality traits from local pig breeds and their crosses

Contrary to intensive pig production, local pig breeds and their production systems are able to respond to the high criteria and expectations of modern society in regard to some environmental aspects, animal welfare, food quality and healthiness. This study proposes the recovery, study and use of a cross between two local breeds, contributing to animal biodiversity conservation and to the income of local pig producers. This work studied the growth performance and blood, carcass and meat quality traits of Alentejano (AL), Bísaro (BI) and Ribatejano (RI) (AL × BI, BI × AL) castrated male pigs. Raised outdoors, pigs were fed commercial diets ad libitum and killed at ~65 kg (trial 1, n = 10 from each genotype) and ~150 kg BW (trial 2, n = 9 from each genotype). In trial 1, AL and AL × BI attained slaughter weight later than BI and BI × AL pigs, with AL presenting lower average daily gains than the other genotypes (P < 0.001). Alentejano and RI pigs presented higher (P < 0.01) levels of plasma total protein than BI. Overall, carcass traits were affected by genotype, with length (P < 0.01), yield (P = 0.07) and lean cut proportions (P < 0.01) lower in AL than BI, and intermediate values for crossed pigs. Conversely, AL pigs presented higher fat cut proportion (P < 0.01), average backfat thickness (P < 0.001) and ‘zwei punkte’ fat depth (P < 0.01) than BI and RI pigs. Alentejano pigs also presented higher Longissimus lumborum (LL) intramuscular fat (P < 0.05), myoglobin content and ultimate pH (P < 0.01), but lower total collagen (P < 0.05), drip (P < 0.001) and cooking losses (P < 0.01), and shear force (P < 0.001) than all other genotypes. Finally, LL showed a more intense red colour in AL than in BI pigs. In trial 2, AL pigs confirmed to be a slow-growing obese breed with lower bone and lean cut proportions than BI, and higher LL intramuscular fat, richer colour, lower water loss and higher tenderness. In both trials, RI pigs grew faster, with higher lean and lower fat cut proportions and backfat thickness, and with overall LL characteristics comparable to those observed in AL pigs. This work demonstrates some clear differences between AL and BI breeds while showing that their crosses present intermediate characteristics in most studied traits. These data on RI pigs can be useful to breeders’ associations and farmers in order to consider the use of these crosses as an option or complement to pure line breeding.

A new perspective: An italian autochthonous pig and its muscle and fat tissue characteristics

The research was aimed at identifying the key characteristics of muscle and fat tissues when comparing two pig breeds: Black Sicilian pig and Landrace pig. In Psoas minor (Pm) and Psoas major (PM) muscles the morphometric characteristics of fibre types and their percentage were determined. The area of adipocytes from internal and external layer of adipose tissue was also determined. The results showed that slow twitch oxidative (SO) fibres were larger than fast twitch glycolytic (FG) and fast twitch oxidative glycolytic (FOG); Pm muscle was characterized by larger FG and SO fibres than PM; males had larger fibres than females in both muscles and breeds. Landrace pig has smaller adipocytes cells than Black Sicilian while Black Sicilian pig showed more essential fatty acids than Landrace. The results in favour of Black Sicilian pig show how conservation of animal biodiversity becomes important because of the high independent homeostatic capability exhibited by autochthonous genetic types for the management and control of the land.

Conservation of endangered animals: From biotechnologies to digital preservation

In the recent years, the number of endangered animals, both referred to livestock and wild species, has grown enormously. The “livestock” term refers to animals domesticated for producing commodities for man such as food, fiber and draught. Livestock biodiversity is integral to our culture, history, environment, and economy. Thousands of livestock breeds have evolved over time to suit particular environments and farming systems. Conservation and analyses of these genetic resources rely on demographic characterization and correct breeding schemes. In addition, molecular genetic studies allow to identify and monitor the genetic diversity within and across breeds and to reconstruct their evolution history. The conservation of livestock variability is also a crucial element in order to preserve and valorise specific nutritional and nutraceutical properties of animal products. Efficient ex situ and in situ conservation strategies, as well as the creation of bio-banks and specific biotechnological and bioinformatics tools for genetic analyses and digital preservation, are obligatory requirements in order to implement an appropriate action for the conservation of animal biodiversity. The main issues concerning different species are summarised, with particular reference to the livestock biodiversity still existing. Some examples of ex situ conservation strategies, which mainly refer to cryoconservation of semen, ova, embryos or tissues, developed in Italy, are presented, and the different actions in defense of Animal Genetic Resources (AnGR) developed within the European Community are illustrated. Interestingly, the same strategies for biological and digital analyses and preservation of livestock biodiversity can be exported to wild endangered animals in order to plan a correct conservation and repopulation of the species. Furthermore, the European Union has set up the guidelines to safeguard the biodiversity and to combat the extinction of animal species, and has made the protection of biodiversity and ecosystems one of the main objectives of the Sixth Environment Action Programme.

Cryoconservation of South African plant genetic diversity

South Africa has a rich flora which exhibits among the highest species density in the world, distributed across nine biomes that support an impressive diversity of animal life. However, a variety of human actions, invasion by alien species, natural disturbances and climate change collectively impact negatively on the great diversity of both plant and animal species. In situ conservation has long been practised, primarily in nature reserves, complemented by ex situ conservation in national botanic gardens, but in vitro plant conservation is not common. In the context of animal biodiversity conservation, the Wildlife Biological Resource Centre of the National Zoological Gardens utilises cryobanking as one of its major focuses and is now poised to expand as the repository for the cryoconservation of plant germplasm, particularly for indigenous recalcitrant-seeded and poor-seeding species. However, there are particular problems associated with successful germplasm cryostorage of such tropical and subtropical plants. As we see the science and application of cryobiology and cryoconservation as cross-cutting and transdisciplinary, we have entrained formal networking among scientists offering a range of specialisations aimed at a deeper understanding of common problems and practical outcomes to facilitate both plant and animal biobanking. The endeavours are aimed at elucidating the basis of both successes and failures in our efforts to attain optimal outcomes. With focus on best practices, standard operating procedures, validation and risk management for cryopreserved and cold-stored plant and animal material, our ultimate aim is to facilitate restoration by the safe reintroduction of indigenous species.

Domestic animal biodiversity conservation: a case study of rural development plans in the European Union

In this paper we examine the content of farm animal biodiversity conservation measures currently under implementation in the European Union (EU), as a result of the application of EC Regulations 1257/99 and 1750/99. We surveyed 69 Rural Development Plans (RDPs) set up in EU Member States. Our analysis focuses on six livestock mammalian species: asses, cattle, goats, horses, pigs, and sheep The starting point for our investigation is the Domestic Animals Diversity-Information System (DAD-IS) FAO database which monitors the status of breeds in the world. We compare breeds included in the DAD-IS FAO database with breeds covered by the various RDPs. The analysis highlights that many breeds at risk of extinction according the FAO are not included in the RDPs. The analysis also indicates that the main efforts of the RDPs are devoted to preserving local cattle and sheep breeds. As concerns the financial aspects of livestock biodiversity measures, we note that the payments offered to farmers do not take into account the different probabilities of extinction associated with each breed in each country. Furthermore, we observe that payments do not meet all of the relevant criteria stated in the EEC Regulations. In many cases, we observe that, in spite of the Union's support to farmers, it still remains unprofitable to rear local breeds. These anomalies suggest the need for a revision of the current EU supporting measures related to the conservation of livestock biodiversity. Finally, by using FAO indicators on the current population size of each breed, we estimate the level of expected public expenditure necessary to ensure the upgrading of breeds from their ‘at-risk’ status to a ‘not-at-risk’ status during the period 2000–2006.

Farm Animal Biodiversity Conservation Activities in Europe under the Framework of Agenda 2000

In this paper we examine the content of farm animal biodiversity observation measures currently under implementation in the European Union (EU), as a result of the application of EC Regulations 1257/99 and 1750/99. We surveyed 69 Rural Development Plans (RDPs) set up in EU Member States. Our analysis focuses on six livestock mammalian species: asses, cattle, goats, horses, pigs, and sheep. The starting point for our investigation is the Domestic Animals Diversity-Information System (DAD-IS) FAO database which monitors the status of breeds in the world. We compare breeds included in the DAD-IS FAO database with breeds covered by the various RDPs. The analysis highlights that many breeds at risk of extinction according to FAO are not included in the RDPs. The analysis also indicates that the main efforts of the RDPs are devoted to preserving local cattle and sheep breeds. As concerns the financial aspects of livestock biodiversity measures, we note that the payments offered to farmers do not take into account the different probabilities of extinction associated with each breed in each country. Furthermore, we observe that payments do not meet all of the relevant criteria stated in the EEC Regulations. In many cases, we observe that, in spite of the Union's support to farmers, it still remains unprofitable to rear local breeds. These anomalies suggest the need for a revision of the current EU supporting measures related to the conservation of livestock biodiversity. Finally, by using FAO indicators on the current population size of each breed, we estimate the level of expected public expenditure necessary to ensure the upgrading of breeds from their at-risk status to a not-at-risk status during the period 2000-2006.

Molecular ecology and animal biodiversity conservation

Molecular ecology and animal biodiversity conservation