Gizaw Solomon, Komen Hans, Windig Jack J, Hanotte Olivier, van Arendonk Johan A M
Debre Birhan Agricultural Research Center, P.O. Box 112, Debre Birhan, Ethiopia.
Genet Sel Evol. 2008 Jul-Aug;40(4):433-47. doi: 10.1186/1297-9686-40-4-433. Epub 2008 Jun 17.
Prioritizing livestock breeds for conservation needs to incorporate both genetic and non-genetic aspects important for the survival of the breeds. Here, we apply a maximum-utility-strategy to prioritize 14 traditional Ethiopian sheep breeds based on their threat status, contributions to farmer livelihoods (current breed merits) and contributions to genetic diversity. Contributions of the breeds to genetic diversity were quantified using Eding's marker-estimated kinship approaches. Non-genetic aspects included threats (e.g. low population size, low preferences by farmers) and current merits (economic, ecological and cultural merits). Threat analysis identified eight of the 14 breeds as threatened. Analysis of current merits showed that sub-alpine and arid-lowland breeds contribute most to farmer livelihoods in comparison to other breeds. The highest contribution to the genetic diversity conserved was from the Simien breed. Simien showed high between-breed (low between-breed kinship = 0.04) as well as high within-breed diversity (low within-breed kinship = 0.09 and high H(E) = 0.73 and allelic richness = 6.83). We combined the results on threat status, current breed merits and contributions to genetic diversity to produce a ranking of the 14 breeds for conservation purposes. Our results balance the trade-offs between conserving breeds as insurance against future uncertainties and current sustainable utilization. The ranking of breeds provides a basis for conservation strategies for Ethiopian sheep and contributes to a regional or global conservation plan.
根据品种生存所需的遗传和非遗传因素对家畜品种进行优先排序,以确定保护重点。在此,我们应用最大效用策略,根据埃塞俄比亚14个传统绵羊品种的受威胁状况、对农民生计的贡献(当前品种优势)以及对遗传多样性的贡献,对它们进行优先排序。利用埃丁的标记估计亲缘关系方法量化了这些品种对遗传多样性的贡献。非遗传因素包括威胁(如种群规模小、农民偏好低)和当前优势(经济、生态和文化优势)。威胁分析确定14个品种中有8个受到威胁。对当前优势的分析表明,与其他品种相比,亚高山和干旱低地品种对农民生计的贡献最大。对遗传多样性保护贡献最大的是西门品种。西门品种显示出较高的品种间差异(品种间亲缘关系低 = 0.04)以及较高的品种内多样性(品种内亲缘关系低 = 0.09,高杂合度H(E) = 0.73,等位基因丰富度 = 6.83)。我们综合了受威胁状况、当前品种优势和对遗传多样性贡献的结果,得出了14个品种的保护排名。我们的结果平衡了作为应对未来不确定性的保障而保护品种与当前可持续利用之间的权衡。品种排名为埃塞俄比亚绵羊的保护策略提供了依据,并有助于制定区域或全球保护计划。