Scientific Breeding Research Articles

Variability of genetic diversity of spring barley by hordeincoding locus over a 40-year period of scientific breeding in the Krasnoyarsk Territory

The article discusses and summarizes the results of studies of polymorphism of hordeins (HRD) of spring barley by electrophoresis at the Krasnoyarsk Research Institute of Agriculture (KNIISH) for the period from 1988 to 2021. The analysis of the dynamics of the genetic diversity of barley varieties from the ecological and breeding nurseries of the KNIISKh, released and approved for use in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, showed a significant narrowing of the frequency of occurrence and the loss of a number of alleles characteristic of the conditions of the Yenisei Siberia, and the appearance of rare variants for the Siberian region. Based on long-term observations of the composition of hordeins of breeding samples (promising and rejection) created in different areas of breeding, a number of alleles were found to be associated with economically valuable traits.

Study of the Influence of Non-Genetic Factors on the Growth and Development Traits and Cashmere Production Traits of Inner Mongolia White Cashmere Goats (Erlangshan Type).

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of non-genetic factors on the growth and development performance of Inner Mongolia white cashmere goats (Erlanghan type), such as birth weight (BW), weaning weight (WW), 6-month weight (6 WT), 12-month weight (12 WT), body height (BH), and body length (BL), and wool production performance, such as cashmere fineness (CF), cashmere thickness (CT), and cashmere yield (CY). The research objects were 4654 kids produced by 45 buck goats and 2269 doe goats in the Erlang Mountain Ranch of Beiping Textile Co., Ltd., Inner Mongolia, from 2020 to 2023. Based on the generalized linear model, ANOVA was used to analyze the effects of non-genetic factors, such as birth year (Y), birth month (M), sex (S), birth type (T), birth herd (H), assay flock (F), age at measurement (MA), and the age of doe goats at lambing (DLA), on growth and development traits and cashmere traits. The results show that the birth weight (BW), weaning weight (WW), 6-month weight (6 WT), 12-month weight (12 WT), body length (BL), body height (BH), chest depth (CD), chest width (CW), chest circumference (CC), cannon circumference (CNC), wool length (WL), and cashmere yield (CY) of buck goats were significantly higher than those of doe goats (p < 0.01), and the fineness of the cashmere produced by doe goats was significantly finer than that produced by buck goats (p < 0.01). The birth weight, weaning weight, and 6-month weight of single kids were significantly higher than those of multiple kids (p < 0.01), but the effect on the 12-month weight was not significant (p > 0.05). The age of doe goats at lambing had significant effects on birth weight, weaning weight, and 6-month weight (p < 0.01). Assay flock and age at measurement had significant effects on cashmere fineness, cashmere thickness, and cashmere yield (p < 0.01). This study will provide a basis for the scientific breeding and management of cashmere goats and lay a foundation for the setting of fixed effects in the genetic evaluation model of Inner Mongolia white cashmere goats (Erlangshan type).

“Pathogen” and “Host”, “Plant pathology” and “Breeding science”, new resistance breeding created by interaction

“Pathogen” and “Host”, “Plant pathology” and “Breeding science”, new resistance breeding created by interaction

Genetic assessment of eight zoo populations of golden snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana) implication to the conservation management of captive populations.

Captive breeding programs play an important role in preserving the genetic diversity of endangered species. It is of utmost importance to conduct genetic assessment for captive populations in order to develop scientific breeding plans and conservation management strategies. Here, we genotyped 10 microsatellite loci and sequenced 368 bp of mitochondrial DNA control region for the golden snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana) from eight captive populations in China, and compared the genetic indices of captive populations with a wild population. Meanwhile, we performed paternity tests to verify the genealogical records and established genetic lineages. A total of 157 individuals were identified from 161 fecal samples, including 135 captive individuals (approximately 25% of captive individuals in China). Microsatellite analysis showed that the nine populations had moderate levels of genetic diversity, with polymorphism information content (PIC) ranging from 0.43 to 0.542; the genetic diversity of captive populations (average PIC: 0.503) was slightly higher than that of the wild population (PIC: 0.438). The Structure analysis indicated that individuals of the eight captive populations contained two different genetic components. We conducted either single-blind or double-blind paternity testing on 40 offspring of captive individuals and found that five offspring from two zoos (Nanjing Hongshan Forest Zoo and Shanghai Wild Animal Park) showed discrepant kinships from their pedigree records, probably due to the inaccuracies in pedigree records. By constructing genetic pedigrees, inbred offspring were found in Beijing Zoo, Shanghai Zoo, Hangzhou Zoo, and Chengdu Zoo. Analysis based on mitochondrial DNA showed a high level of genetic diversity in the eight captive populations (mean nucleotide diversity: 0.047). However, no nucleotide diversity was found in the wild population. This study conducted a genetic survey for captive golden snub-nosed monkeys and will significantly benefit the genetic conservation management for captive populations in the future.

Measurement of the Angle between stems and leaves of rice based on key point detection

Stem-leaf angle is an important phenotypic parameter of rice, which is crucial for the growth and development of rice plants and scientific breeding. However, the traditional method is inefficient and subjective. In order to quickly and accurately calculate the stem-leaf pinch angle of rice, this paper proposes a key point-based stem-leaf pinch angle detection method. Experimentally, four periods of rice (Jointing stage, Booting stage, Heading stage and Mature stage) are selected as research objects, image data are collected, key points are extracted by YOLOv7-pose network model, and a lightweight convolution method GSConv is introduced, which is able to reduce the complexity of the model and improve the accuracy of the key point detection, the average accuracy of key point detection was improved from 93.7% to 98.7%, an improvement of 5%. Finally, the angular size of the pinch angle was determined based on the coordinates of the key points located by the model, and the R2 of the pinch angle calculation results to the actual manual measurements was the highest of 0.84, the errors for the four periods were 1.543°, 1.716°, 1.213°, and 0.998°. So the method ensures the accuracy of identification while the model size is reduced, and can effectively measure the angle of rice stem and leaf pinch, and the investigated method can better help farmers to understand the growth and development of plants and provide support for the selection of excellent crop traits.

Application of Strain Selection Technology in Alcoholic Beverages: A Review.

The diversity of alcohol beverage microorganisms is of great significance for improving the brewing process and the quality of alcohol beverage products. During the process of making alcoholic beverages, a group of microorganisms, represented by yeast and lactic acid bacteria, conducts fermentation. These microorganisms have complex synergistic or competitive relationships, and the participation of different microorganisms has a major impact on the fermentation process and the flavor and aroma of the product. Strain selection is one of the key steps. Utilizing scientific breeding technology, the relationship between strains can be managed, the composition of the alcoholic beverage microbial community can be improved, and the quality and flavor of the alcoholic beverage products can be increased. Currently, research on the microbial diversity of alcohol beverages has received extensive attention. However, the selection technology for dominant bacteria in alcohol beverages has not yet been systematically summarized. To breed better-quality alcohol beverage strains and improve the quality and characteristics of wine, this paper introduces the microbial diversity characteristics of the world's three major brewing alcohols: beer, wine, and yellow wine, as well as the breeding technologies of related strains. The application of culture selection technology in the study of microbial diversity of brewed wine was reviewed and analyzed. The strain selection technology and alcohol beverage process should be combined to explore the potential application of a diverse array of alcohol beverage strains, thereby boosting the quality and flavor of the alcohol beverage and driving the sustainable development of the alcoholic beverage industry.

Increasing The Ability And Adoption Of Goat Breeding Technology In Mitra Sepakat Farmer Group Kabupaten Sijunjung

Goat rearing in Kenagarian Palaluar Kecamatan Koto VII Kabupaten Sijunjung is carried out extensively with field grass feed. This causes the potency of goat kacang is not optimal. There are no practical and health-qualified livestock cages, forage cultivation gardens, feed preservation, handling of sick livestock, or untapped livestock waste to reduce pollution. If the potential of kacang goat farming can be optimized, it can improve the economy of farmers. The purpose of this activity is to improve the ability of goat farming Mitra Sepakat farmer group through the adoption of technology and goat farming management. This activity began in 2020 starting with: the selection and cultivation of forage animal feed, demonstration plots of effective goat cages and selection breed goats; in 2021, feed management, fermentation feed manufacturing, concentrate manufacturing, reproduction management, and business analysis; in 2022, this was continued by the activity of making fermented feed, managing goat livestock waste into manure and evaluating the application of goat breeding science and technology that had been given. Based on the evaluation of the implementation of service activities that have been carried out from two years ago have been: a) changes in goat breeding patterns from (15 people) 100% extensive to 8 people (53) % intensive and intensive breeding patterns have been able to implement 100% transfer of Science and technology provided. The results of the evaluation conducted still found some problems faced by farmers such as the calf mortality rate being quite high, which became the plan for the next service for the next service activities.

Variability of Genetic Diversity of Spring Barley by Hordein-Coding Locus over a 40-Year Period of Scientific Breeding in Krasnoyarsk Krai

Variability of Genetic Diversity of Spring Barley by Hordein-Coding Locus over a 40-Year Period of Scientific Breeding in Krasnoyarsk Krai

Detection and molecular typing of epidemic Brucella strains among camels, sheep, and cattle in Xinjiang, China.

Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease that can result in symptoms including infertility, abortion, testicular inflammation, and arthritis in affected sheep and cattle. The disease can spread through a range of mechanisms, making outbreaks difficult to control such that affected farms often suffer severe economic losses. In addition, humans can be affected by brucellosis, and the number of cases continues to rise annually. As rates of brucellosis in Xinjiang, China have been increasing substantially in recent years, this study was developed to assess brucellosis seroprevalence among herds of cattle, sheep, and camels in Xinjiang through the use of common diagnostic procedures like the Rose Bengal test (RBT) and PCR. A cross-sectional approach was used to analyze the seroprevalence of brucellosis across 720 total farm animals (320 camels, 250 sheep, and 150 cattle). RBT incidence rate for brucellosis was detected in 60 serum samples, 14 (4.38%) from camels, 45 (18%) from sheep, and 1 (0.67%) from cattle. PCR was performed as a confirmatory approach for these RBT-positive samples, with 55 ultimately being confirmed to be positive 13 (4.06%), 41 (16.4%), and 1 (0.67%) samples from camels, sheep, and cattle, respectively. In this survey, sheep exhibited the highest brucellosis seroprevalence using these two analytical techniques, while cattle exhibited the lowest seroprevalence and camels exhibited an intermediate rate. AMOS-PCR analyses identified Brucella melitensis as the unknown bacterium in some of these samples. These results offer new insight regarding brucellosis seroprevalence among farm animals that can be used to formulate more appropriate prevention and control policies, while also improving awareness of epidemic prevention efforts, the need for routine quarantine and disinfection, the benefits of scientific breeding and management, and approaches to improving breeding efficiency for the camel, cattle, and sheep industries.

Assessment of the Relationship Between Yield and Quality of Potato Tubers in the Conditions of the Middle Volga Region

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is one of the most important and most popular agricultural crops in Russia. Breeding science creates many new varieties to increase the biological and economic potential of potato. One of the criteria for inclusion in practical breeding is high productivity combined with resistance. This approach is based on the study of phenotype under specific environmental conditions. The aim of the work is to evaluate the relationship between yield components and quality of potato tubers. The objects of study were 29 potato varieties of different ripeness groups and genetic origin: early, medium early and mid-season variety. Field research was carried out at the experimental plot of the Samara Scientific Re-search Agriculture Institute named after N.M. Tulajkov – branch of the Samara Federal Research Scientific Center RAS in 2022-2024. As a result of field experiments, higher yields of early variety, medium early variety and mid-season were established. The correlation coefficients between yield and tuber number and yield and tuber weight are r = 0.59 and r = 0.71 at p &lt; 0.05, respectively. A positive correlation was established for yield and plant height (r = 0.29). A mean positive relationship linked starch content and tuber number (r = 0.39) but negative relationship was found for ascorbic acid content and tuber weight (r = 0.28). Thus, it is necessary to take into account the relationship of tuber biochemical composition with yield and growth parameters in breeding programmes.

Unlocking animal genetic resources for enhanced productivity: The power lies in the genes

This article underscores the glaring divide in the application of animal breeding science between developed and developing countries, shedding light on the success of developed countries in leveraging breeding techniques for sustainable productivity and robust livestock industries. In contrast, developing countries grapple with challenges in recognizing the value of animal genetics as a transformative science to optimize their livestock production. Beyond the conventional barriers such as feed scarcity, high prices, and climate shifts, commonly attributed to poor livestock productivity in developing nations, the crux of the issue lies in the misconceptions surrounding genetics. The article contends that a comprehensive understanding of within-breed variation is pivotal to assess and appreciate animals based on their genetic potential, emphasizing that genes, not phenotypes, drive progress across generations. To address these challenges, specific breeding measures are advocated, and collaborative organizations among livestock owners are deemed essential. However, the scarcity of animal breeders, well-versed in classical genetics, poses a significant hurdle. Despite global initiatives from international and regional organizations, impactful change at the grassroots level remains limited. While acknowledging the transformative role of the digital revolution, it underscores the enduring value of traditional hands-on workshops, especially in pilot projects with local communities and large-scale farmers. For nations lacking established genetic improvement programs, adopting FAO guidelines is advised as a prudent starting point. In essence, the article advocates a holistic approach to bridge the gap and foster inclusive development in the realm of animal breeding science.

Population genetics analysis of the black rockfish Sebastes schlegelii in Northern China based on 2b-RAD simplified genome sequencing

The black rockfish Sebastes schlegelii is an important fishery species in Japan, South Korea, and China. Overfishing has severely depleted the natural resources of S. schlegelii in recent years, leading to the initiation of programs aimed at enhancing fish stock. However, the genetic structure of northern populations remains elusive, posing challenges in collecting and preserving germplasm resources. In this study, a total of 191 S. schlegelii individuals from seven populations, including one cultured population (Changdao: CDYZ) and six wild populations (Lianyungang: LYG; Qingdao: QD; Weihai: WH; Changdao: CDYS; Beidaihe: BDH) sequenced by 2b-RAD method and their population genetics was analyzed using 27,064 SNPs obtained. The results indicated low genetic diversity in both wild and cultured populations (PIC &lt; 0.25, Ho: 0.174-0.273, He: 0.173-0.234), with the cultured population exhibiting higher diversity than the wild ones. Moderate genetic differentiation existed between the cultured population and six wild populations (0.05 &lt; Fst &lt; 0.25). However, the genetic differentiation was lower among the other wild populations (Fst &lt; 0.05). The analyses of population genetic structure indicated that the wild populations clustered together first and finally with the cultured population CDYZ, which clustered separately except for one individual. Therefore, scientific breeding programs and germplasm conservation can be important in stabilizing genetic structure. In addition, gene flow among the seven populations was high (Nm &gt; 1). This study provides a theoretical basis for conserving and rationalizing germplasm resources for S. schlegelii.

Селекция подсолнечника в изменяющихся агроклиматических условиях Тамбовской области

Tambov Research Institute of Agriculture – a branch of the I.V. Michurin Federal Research Center (early Tambov State Regional Agricultural Experimental station) has been conducting the breeding of sunflowers from the 50th of the last century. The Tambov region is located on 52 grad. N lat. In the north border of the sunflower cultivation. The duration of a period from seedling appearance to physiological maturity of sunflower should be equal no more than 80–85 days in conditions of the Tambov region. A short frostless period and early autumn colds, often accompanied with long rains do not allow producing more productive sunflower varieties and hybrids with a growing season of 120–130 days. The agricultural production requires for very early and early varieties maturing without desiccation before harvest. During these years, as the results of scientific breeding works, 19 varieties and a hybrid of sunflower were developed. Currently, five varieties Spartak, Chakinsky 931, Chakinsky 77, PK 05, Chakinsky 100, and a hybrid Nadezhda developed jointly with a company “Agroplazma” are included into the State Register of breeding achievements permitted for the agricultural production in the Central Chernozem (5) and Middle Volga (7) regions. In 2021, the new sunflower variety Zagrey 21 was introduced into the State variety trial. During the testing period in a competitive variety trial nursery, its 1000 seed weight was 75.4 g, oil content – 49.2%. Oil yield of the new variety reliably exceeded the control by 40 kg/ha. Now, the sunflower breeding department works on development of productive, oil and confectionary types, herbicide resistant, very early and early maturing sunflower varieties and hybrids.

Locality Preserved Selective Projection Learning for Rice Variety Identification Based on Leaf Hyperspectral Characteristics

Rice has an important position in China as well as in the world. With the wide application of rice hybridization technology, the problem of mixing between individual varieties has become more and more prominent, so the variety identification of rice is important for the agricultural production, the phenotype collection, and the scientific breeding. Traditional identification methods are highly subjective and time-consuming. To address this issue, we propose a novel locality preserved selective projection learning (LPSPL) method for non-destructive rice variety identification based on leaf hyperspectral characteristics. The proposed LPSPL method can select the most discriminative spectral features from the leaf hyperspectral characteristics of rice, which is helpful to distinguish different rice varieties. In the experiments, support vector machine (SVM) is adopted to conduct the rice variety identification based on the selected spectral features. The experimental results show that the proposed method here achieves higher identification rates, 96% for the early rice and 98% for the late rice, respectively, which are superior to some state-of-the-art methods.

ResNet-based dairy daily behavior recognition

With the rapid development of China ’s dairy farming industry, it becomes difficult to breed and manage the increasing number of dairy cows. The smart agricultural enabled by edging techniques such as smart sensor, IoT, machine learning, etc. shows great potential to improve the scientific breeding and management of dairy cows. Using machine learning assisted computer vision to identify and classify the behavior of dairy cows can quickly determine the health status of dairy cows and improve management efficiency. However, there are still some challenges need to be addressed in the current behavior recognition of dairy cows. Due to the more complex background of dairy farms, the increase in the number of cows makes the mutual shading problem of dairy cows serious, which leads to the low efficiency of dairy cow behavior recognition. To address this challenge, this paper collected and labeled four types of 1,660 dairy daily behavior datasets and proposed a residual neural network (ResNet)-based dairy daily behavior recognition model. Experiments show that the proposed method is far superior to the baseline method in accuracy performance, and it provides inspiration for the behavior recognition of cows.

Perspective varieties of sweet pepper for the conditions of the Lower Volga region

The article presents the results of experimental research on the search, study and use of qualitatively new traits of varieties and lines of sweet pepper that can complement the existing assortment of crops and ensure the import substitution of foreign varieties and hybrids in domestic vegetable seed production.The purpose of the work. The aim of the research was to create new competitive varieties of sweet pepper to expand the range of crops in the framework of the development of domestic seed production.Methods. Scientific breeding work on the research topic was carried out by the Department of Breeding and Seed Production of the VNIIOOB-branch of the Federal State Budget Scientific Institution "PAFSC RAS" in 2020-2022 as part of the implementation of the State task on the experimental field of the Institute (Kamyzyak, Astrakhan region) according to generally accepted methods. In the experiments, the zonal agrotechnology of crop cultivation, recommended for irrigated agriculture in the Lower Volga region, was used. The objects of research were 7 promising samples of sweet pepper. The zoned varieties of sweet pepper "Gift of Moldova" and "Gift of the Caspian" were used as a standard.Results. The article presents the results of a study of economically valuable qualities and traits of breeding lines and new varieties of sweet pepper "Zarnitsa" and "Prince Caspian" VNIIOOB breeding. The sweet pepper variety Zarnitsa was created and entered in 2023 in the State Register of Breeding Achievements Approved for Use in the Russian Federation. Mid-season (118-120 days), characterized by early and amicable setting and ripening of fruits of an even, cone-shaped shape with a light green color in the technical and red in the biological phase of ripening. The average fruit weight is 150-160 g, fruit wall thickness is 0.5-0.6 cm, fruit yield is 55-60 t/ha, marketability is up to 93%. The sweet pepper variety Prince Caspian was created and submitted for state variety testing in 2022. Mid-season (120-125 days), prism-shaped fruits with green color in technical and red color in biological maturity. The average fruit weight is 175-180 g, the average fruit wall thickness is 0.7 cm, the average yield is 52-53 t/ha, the fruit marketability is up to 95%. As a result of the research, a promising breeding line SL - 154/20 with large cube-shaped fruits weighing 184 g and a wall thickness of up to 0.8 cm has been identified. Recommended for fresh consumption, canning and home cooking.Conclusion. The introduction of new varieties of sweet pepper into production will contribute to import substitution and food independence of the state.

IO-YOLOv5: Improved Pig Detection under Various Illuminations and Heavy Occlusion

Accurate detection and counting of live pigs are integral to scientific breeding and production in intelligent agriculture. However, existing pig counting methods are challenged by heavy occlusion and varying illumination conditions. To overcome these challenges, we proposed IO-YOLOv5 (Illumination-Occlusion YOLOv5), an improved network that expands on the YOLOv5 framework with three key contributions. Firstly, we introduced the Simple Attention Receptive Field Block (SARFB) module to expand the receptive field and give greater weight to important features at different levels. The Ghost Spatial Pyramid Pooling Fast Cross Stage Partial Connections (GSPPFC) module was also introduced to enhance model feature reuse and information flow. Secondly, we optimized the loss function by using Varifocal Loss to improve the model’s learning ability on high-quality and challenging samples. Thirdly, we proposed a public dataset consisting of 1270 images and 15,672 pig labels. Experiments demonstrated that IO-YOLOv5 achieved a mean average precision (mAP) of 90.8% and a precision of 86.4%, surpassing the baseline model by 2.2% and 3.7% respectively. By using a model ensemble and test time augmentation, we further improved the mAP to 92.6%, which is a 4% improvement over the baseline model. Extensive experiments showed that IO-YOLOv5 exhibits excellent performance in pig recognition, particularly under heavy occlusion and various illuminations. These results provide a strong foundation for pig recognition in complex breeding environments.

Role of Melatonin in Bovine Reproductive Biotechnology.

Melatonin has profound antioxidant activity and numerous functions in humans as well as in livestock and poultry. Additionally, melatonin plays an important role in regulating the biological rhythms of animals. Combining melatonin with scientific breeding management has considerable potential for optimizing animal physiological functions, but this idea still faces significant challenges. In this review, we summarized the beneficial effects of melatonin supplementation on physiology and reproductive processes in cattle, including granulosa cells, oocytes, circadian rhythm, stress, inflammation, testicular function, spermatogenesis, and semen cryopreservation. There is much emerging evidence that melatonin can profoundly affect cattle. In the future, we hope that melatonin can not only be applied to cattle, but can also be used to safely and effectively improve the efficiency of animal husbandry.

Comparative Analysis of Research Output of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University as Reflected in Scopus and Web of Science

The study presented in the paper has analyzed the research productivity of faculty members of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University for the period of 2001-2020. Total of 4372 publications in Scopus and 1980 publications in web of Science database were retrieved and compared the performance of the faculty members. This study analyzed the scientific parameters such as year-wise distribution of research productivity, most prolific authors, funding sponsors, Collaborating Institutions, Collaborating Countries and top-ranked sources preferred by the agricultural faculty members for publishing their research output. Tamil Nadu Agricultural University faculty members published more publications in Scopus 4372 compared to Web of Science 1980. Articles are the predominant publications by the faculty members of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore 3928 in Scopus and 1822 in Web of Science Prof. Samiyappan R is the predominant and most impactful author of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University.USA is the most predominant country collaborated with Tamil Nadu Agricultural University publications about 187 in Scopus and 137 in Web of Science Legume Research is the most predominant journal with 69 publications in Web of Science and Electronic Journal of Plant Breeding 448 publications in Scopus. Agricultural College and Research Institute, Madurai is the most collaborating institution with 538 publications in Scopus and Kansas State University in Web of Science database.Plant Sciences (499), Agronomy (490), Biotechnology Applied Microbiology (190), Horticulture (159) and Environmental Science (129) are the predominant subject areas focused by the faculty members of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in Web of Science and Agricultural and Biological Sciences subject category in Scopus 3317 publications. Indian Council of Agricultural Research is the predominant sponsor and supported for 104 research publications followed by Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, India.

Issues of Declining Livestock Breeds: Revisiting Domestic Animal Diversity in Pastoral Systems

Concerns for the disappearance of local breeds go back to the beginning of scientific breeding and the early national policies of agriculture intensification in Europe at the time of the industrial revolution. That initial Eurocentric framing of domestic animal diversity as ‘local’ breeds, largely the result of natural selection and potentially a useful source of ‘raw’ genetic material, remains dominant. Today, however, the debate around domestic animal diversity has been globalized, and so includes livestock breeding populations and livestock systems that developed outside the European experience. This paper looks at domestic animal diversity from the vantage point of one of such cases: cattle breeding among the Wodaabe pastoralists in Niger. The research is based on a combination of qualitative methodologies standard in social anthropology and quantitative analysis of memorized herd genealogies over a 20-year period. Results show that a competent herder can control cattle mating in over 90 percent of cases. Complex learned behaviour in cattle, particularly related to feeding competence, is a major selection criterion. The Wodaabe specialize in using the short-lived and unpredictable grazing opportunities, which is characteristic of Sahelian rangelands. To successfully interface the unpredictable variability in potential inputs, they breed herds with exceptional levels of within-breed diversity, crucially including epigenetic traits. The common practice of conflating Domestic Animal Diversity (DAD) with Animal Genetic Resources (AnGR), therefore, falls short of adequately representing the relationship between ‘local breeds’ and livelihood in pastoral systems.