CONSERVATION OF POULTRY GENETIC RESOURCESCONSERVATION OF POULTRY GENETIC RESOURCES

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By; KANAKA K K IVRI

Poultry Genetic Resources include all poultry species, breeds and strains (and their wild relatives) that are of economic, scientific and cultural interest to humankind in terms of food and production for the present or in the future.

POULTRY  DOMESTICATIONHistorical and Archaeological

evidences - chickens were domesticated during 5400 B.C.,

The term "Poultry" indicates all domesticated species of birds like chicken, ducks, turkeys, Japanese quail, guinea fowls, geese, pigeons, ostrich, emu etc.,

Acc. 19th livestock census poultry population in India is 729.209 millions.

Heritage poultry breedsBreeds that existed prior to the 1950s.Represent a rich storehouse of genes

for traits like disease resistance, stress tolerance, unique egg and meat flavour profiles and increased robustness.

However, many heritage breeds are rare and threatened with extinction

Genetic diversityGenetic diversity refers to the variety of genes

within a species.Each species is made up of individuals that have

their own particular genetic composition. Within a species there may also be discrete

populations with distinctive genes.Genetic diversity in industrial stocks is essential

to afford future opportunities of selection for changed market/ consumer preferences, products etc.

Gene Nature of Inheritance

Direct effect Side effect

dw (dwarf) Sex linked, recessive, multiple allelic

Reduction in body size 10-30%

Reduced metabolism, improved fitness and disease tolerance

Na (Naked neck)

Incomplete dominant

Loss of Neck feathers, Reduction of secondary feathers

Improved ability for convection, Improved adult fitness

F (Frizzle) Incomplete dominant

Curling of feathers, reduced feathering

Improved ability for convection

h (Silky) Recessive Lack of hamuli on the barbules, delicate shaft, long barbs at the contour feathers

Improved ability for convection

Tropical relevant genes in local fowl (HORST, 1988)

SOURCE: LPM 211: Avian Production Management (e learning @ TANUVAS)

Gene Nature of Inheritance

Direct effect Side effect

K (Slow feathring)

Dominant, sex linked, multiple allelic

Delay of feathering

Reduced protein requirement, reduced fat deposition during juvenile life, increased heat loss during early growth, delayed immune response mechanism

id (Non Inhibitor of dermal melanin)

Recessive, sex linked, multiple allelic

Dermal melanin deposition on skin and shank

Improved ability for radiation from shank and skin

Fm (Fibromelenosis)

Dominant with multifactorial modifiers

Melanin deposition on all over body, muscles and nerves, tendons, mesentery and blood vessel walls

Protection of skin against UV radiation, improved radiation from the skin, increased pack cell volume and plasma protein

As per world watch list there are 19 breeds existing in our country where as per ICAR –NBAGR there are 17 breeds existing .

Among these all breeds show critical status of endangerment excep SOME BREEDS

time to worry? Europe records the highest percentage of

extinct breeds or breeds at risk (55% for mammalian and 69% for avian breeds).

Asia and Africa record only 14% and 18% respectively.

FAO corporate repository document 2006

in the year 2000, over 6300 breeds of domesticated livestock were identified. Of these, over 1300 are now extinct

WORLD 606

ASIA 72

EUROPE 406

AMERICA

45

AFRICA 57

World watch list FAO

62 EXTINCTIONS BETWEEN 1999 AND 2006 (FAO, 2007)

Major reasons behind heritage loss:Non-adoption of breeding plan and

unrestricted interbreeding among different breeds.

Growing trend of global reliance on a limited number of selected breeds (commercialsation)

Degradation of ecosystems.Fluctuating market requirements.Diseases and natural disasters.Political unrest and instability

Erosion of genetic potential in industry stocks as a result of decades of intensive selection(Founder effect and Bottle necking).

Causes for the loss of genetic diversity in poultryAccelerated loss of experimental/

specialized research populations Replacement of locally adapted breeds in

small farms and villages with modern industry stocks

Consolidation of primary breeding companies globally resulting in loss of foundation populations (business decisions?)

Commercialization factorsHuge market, knowledgeAvilability of stocks , feed ,health

care

What we need to do,

CONSERVATION

Why we need to conserve? Disease resistence

Hardier and need less health care than exotic birds

Better adaptability to extreme climatic conditions

Higher amino acid contents (arginine and lysine) in meat

Meat - widely preferred for taste, leanness and often fetches higher prices

lower in cholesterol than farm bird eggs

Conservation To maintain genetic diversity.long-term sustainability and

competitiveness of our poultry industry.

Steps to conserve: in situ as living populations or ex situ as cryopreserved material.

ACTION PLANS for ConservationIdentification and listing of all the

available poultry genetic resources. Breed description and characterization

to understand their unique qualities and potential contributions based on their -population structure

-genetic diversity -economic utility.

CHARACTERIZATIONIdentifying distinct breed

populations and describing their external , production and genetic characteristics.

PHENOTYPIC charecterization.GENOTYPIC charecterization.

PHENOTYPIC CHARACTERRIZATIONPhenotypic characterization of AnGR

generally refers to the process of identifying distinct breed populations and describing their external and production characteristics within a given production environment.

Phenotypic traits include observable traits such as height, weight, eye color, hair color, horn size, hoof color, etc. 

Objectives

To identify new breedTo know the geographical distributions

of the breedTo know status of breed in terms of

population, characteristics, etc. in native environments

To document unique characteristics of the breed

To Identify elite animals to be used in improvement programmes

Establishment of breed societies for conservation of the breed in-situ.

Creation of data-base on indigenous animal genetic resources.

Development of technology for collection and freezing of genetic material

GENOTYPIC CHARECTERIZATION

Genetic variability is a major concern to define any livestock breed and to preserve the maximum amount of genetic diversity.

The genetic characterization is a further step to answer questions on taxonomy, evolution, domestication processes, management of genetic resources and setting conservation plans for their effective utilization. 

Objectives

Genetic characterization assesses the genetic constitution of a breed.

It assesses the genetic uniformity, admixture or subdivisions, inbreeding, or introgression in the population.

It is also helpful in providing insight into breed formation.

To create data base, gene bankHelps in breed registration.

StrategiesSampling design:  it should cover most of the

genetic variability in the population.Choice of samples: Almost all cells or tissues

may be used for DNA analysis for genotyping by any methods ,most common tissue is blood. Other samples like semen, hide, bone, tissue feaces, fossils,feathers can also be used. 

Number of samples:For reliable estimation of allele frequencies, at least 25 and preferably 50 samples needed.

In situ conservation In situ conservation is on-site conservation or

the conservation of genetic resources in natural populations of plant or animal species.

Since the cost of keeping live flock is becoming increasingly prohibitive for most research institutions, our poultry producers and hobbyist are left with the burden of conserving living heritage poultry.

Herd registration project.

limitationsRaising small flocks could lead to

inbreeding, lost genetic diversity and increased health problems.

maintain multiple breeds on a single farm can jeopardize genetic purity.

CryopreservationCryopreservation is an important

complementary measure for the conservation of diversity in poultry as in other farm animal species.

Potential methods to store frozen poultry semen were developed by Lake and Stewart (1978) & Sexton (1980, 1981).

Alternative to cryopreservation-chimerical offspring produced from frozen-thawed embryonic cells as well as cloning of frozen somatic cells might be a way to reconstitute genes via the avian egg (Tajima, 2002).

CARI diluent expressed higher fertility rate in 24 hrs stored semen (at low temperature) of WLH chicken in comparison to world class semen diluents like BPSE and Lake.

WLH chicken semen showed high fertility rate at 7±1 °C followed by storage at 11±1 °C and 3±1 °C at 24 hrs storage of semen.

sperm storage tubules and development of technology for short term preservation and utilization of male gametes in ducks(Dr K.V.H. Sastry, Dr S.C. Giri, Dr R.K.S. Bais ,Dr S.K. Sahoo)

VitrificationUnfortunately, thawed cryopreserved poultry

sperm has a very low success rate in fertilizing eggs.

In 2007, a research team at the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre in Agassiz, successfully adapted a new low-temperature preservation technique, vitrification, to store male and female poultry gonads (i.e. reproductive organs) in liquid nitrogen.

Unlike cryopreservation, vitrification is a process of rapid ultra-cooling of tissue - the tissue is not technically frozen (no ice crystal formation) but rather maintained in a glass-like or vitreous state at ultra-low temperature.

Regenerating poultry lines is a matter of surgically implanting thawed vitrified gonads into recipient birds. The recipients, regardless of their own genetic background, go on to produce progeny of the desired breed.

Higher levels of cryoprotactent used.

Short exposer time.

Conservation through Molecular toolsThe modern day molecular tools provide

highly efficient scientific levers to arrest the decline in biodiversity of the endangered poultry species.

With the advent of various DNA profiling techniques, the endangered and threatened breeds of poultry can be efficiently evaluated for their genetic worth and be maintained without further erosion of genetic variability.

Among the most potential DNA markers are:

microsatellites, unique RFLPs and SNPs, which can be efficiently used for the above, using the sequence info, freely accessible from the public domain databases.

With such available genetic information in hand, custom-breeding programs can be designed, by the breeders, which could help-conserve any endangered breeds in a scientific manner.

Immunocompetence and microsatellite profiling in RIR(CARI annual report 2015-16)

Present scenario in conservation

CARI NIRBHEEK Aseel cross CARl RedCARI SHYAMA  Kadakanath cross CARl

Red.CARI UPKARI  Indian nativeFrizzle cross

CARI RedCARI HITCARI  Indian native Naked neck

cross CARI RedCARI MOTI Native Meat Type duckCARI KHAKI  Native Egg type duck

Source; CARI Izatnagar

Variety Developed byGiriraja Department of Poultry Science Karnataka Veterinary, Animal and

Fisheries Sciences University Hebbal, Bangalore 560 024Gramalakshmi Centre for advanced Studies in Poultry Science College of

Veterinary and Animal Sciences Kerala Agricultural University Mannuthy 680 651

Gramapriya Proejct Directorate on Poultry rajendranagar Hyderabad 500 030, AP

Gramasree Centre for Advanced Studies in Poultry Science College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences Kerala Agricultural

University Mannuthy 680 651.

Kalinga Brown Central Poultry Breeding Farm, Bhubaneswar Orissa

Krishibro Project Directorate on Poultry Rajendranagar Hyderabad , AP

Krishna-J Department of Poultry Science College of Veterinary Sciences Jabalpur

Nandanam The Professor and Head Poultry Research Station, Nandanam, Chennai

Variety Developed byNicorock Central Agricultural Research Institute, Port Blair, Andaman

and Nicobari IslandNishibari Central Agricultural Research Institute, Port Blair, Andaman

and Nicobari IslandRajasree College of Veterinary Sciences Sri Venkateswara Veterinary

University Rajendranagar, Hyderabad Swarnadhara Department of Poultry Science Karnataka Veterinary Animal

and Fisheries Sciences University Hebbal, Bangalore 560 024.

Vanaraja Project Directorate on Poultry Rajendranagar Hyderabad , AP

Yamuna Department of Poultry Science College of Veterinary Sciences Jabalpur

Grama Laxmi KAU, Mannuthy

Krishnapriya KAU, Mannuthy

Productivity Improvement of Diversified Poultry species and genetic improvement of guinea fowl varieties-CARI

conservation and utilization of indigenous chicken-CARI

Annual report CARI 2014-15

“Chickens, not computers, can eradicate poverty” -Bill Gates

References CARI annual reports 2014-15 and 2015-16 NBAGR- AnGR portal FAO official website ISAG website Conserving Valuable Poultry Genetics - You can Help Vison 2030- National bureau of animal genetics

resources – NDRI- KARNAL. Steffen Weigend, Michael N. Romanov, and

Detlef Rath- Methodologies to identify, evaluate & conserve poultry genetics.

Steffen Weigend, Michael N. Romanov, and Detlef Rath- Methodologies to identify, evaluate & conserve poultry genetics.

“……The backyard poultry,……….highly important for livelihood and nutritional securities of the rural poor, is, however, facing many problems. The focus, therefore, would be to provide appropriate support to this sector in the form of financial assistance, genetic stocks and improved technologies, scientific advice, extension/awareness, particularly on bio security measures. Conservation of indigenous poultry breeds would be encouraged for producing poultry birds suitable for backyard poultry.” NATIONAL LIVESTOCK POLICY 2013, GOITHANK YOU…..