Background: Brazil holds the largest commercial cattle populations worldwide. Local cattle breeds can be classified according to their origin, as exotic or Creole. Exotic breeds imported in the last 100 years, both zebuine and taurine, currently make up the bulk of the intensively managed populations. Locally adapted Creole breeds, originated from cattle introduced by the European conquerors derive from natural selection and events of breed admixture. While historical knowledge exists on the Brazilian Creole breeds very little is known on their genetic composition. The objective of this study was to assess the levels of genetic diversity, phylogenetic relationships and patterns of taurine/zebuine admixture among ten cattle breeds raised in Brazil.

Brazil has various species of domestic animals, which developed from breeds brought by the Portuguese settlers soon after the discovery of the country. After being submitted to a long process of natural selection, these breeds present characteristics adapted to specific Brazilian environmental conditions, and are known as "criollo", "local" or naturalized breeds. From the beginning of the 20th century, some exotic breeds, selected in temperate regions, have begun to be imported, and, although more productive, they do not have adaptive traits, such as resistance to disease and parasites found in the naturalized breeds. Even so, they gradually replaced the native breeds, to such an extent that the latter are in danger of extinction. To avoid further loss of this important genetic material, in 1983 the National Research Center for Genetic Resources and Biotechnology (Cenargen) of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) decided to include conservation of animal genetic resources among its priorities. The conservation activities have been conducted under the Brazilian Genetic Resources Network -Renargen, and is carried out by various research centres of Embrapa, universities and State research institutions, as well as by private farmers, with a single coordinator at national level, Cenargen. The in situ conservation of cattle, horses, buffaloes, donkeys, goats, sheep and pigs is being carried out by Conservation Nuclei, located in the animal's original habitat. Ex situ conservation is centred at the Brazilian Animal Germplasm Bank (AGB), kept at Cenargen. This is responsible for the storage of semen and embryos of various breeds of domestic animals threatened with extinction. Presently the AGB has almost 60,000 doses of semen and more than 250 embryos, as well as over 7000 DNA samples. An important challenge for this program is to increase awareness within the different segments of society in terms of the importance of the conservation of animal genetic resources. The development and evolution of Renargen and its efforts to facilitate the conservation of genetic resources of livestock in Brazil are described in this paper.

Resumo -O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar medidas corporais associadas à tolerância ao calor em bovinos. Utilizaram-se 64 animais das raças naturalizadas Curraleiro (15), Mocho Nacional (7), Crioulo Lageano (7), Pantaneira (14) e Junqueira (11), e 26 animais de duas raças comerciais: Nelore (15) e Holandesa (11). Foram analisados dados sobre comprimento corporal, perímetro de canela, altura de cernelha, perímetro torácico, espessura da pele, espessura do pêlo, número de pêlos, comprimento de pêlos, pigmentação da epiderme e pelame. A raça Curraleiro apresentou menor perímetro torácico, tendo diferido das outras raças, principalmente da Mocho Nacional. As raças Crioulo Lageano e Pantaneira apresentaram maior espessura de pêlo; a raça Mocho Nacional apresentou maior espessura de pele. Os resultados obtidos demonstram que as raças Curraleiro e Junqueira são mais tolerantes ao calor que as demais raças naturalizadas.Termos para indexação: adaptação, bioclimatologia, medidas corporais, tolerância ao calor. Body traits associated with heat adaptation in naturalized Brazilian cattle breedsAbstract -The aim of this work was to evaluate physical aspects of heat tolerance in cattle. Sixty-four animals from five naturalized breeds were used, including Curraleiro (15 animals), Mocho Nacional (7), Crioulo Lageano (17), Pantaneira (14) and Junqueira (11), as well as twenty-six animals from two commercial breeds: Nellore (15) and Holstein (11). Measurements on shoulder height, girth, body length, cannon bone circumference, skin and hair thickness were analysed as well as hair density and hair and skin pigmentation. Girth in Curraleiro was significantly smaller than in other breeds, especially Mocho Nacional. Crioulo Lageano and Pantaneira had the thickest hair and Mocho Nacional the thickest skin. Curraleiro and Junqueira were shown to be the most heat tolerant of the naturalized breeds.

Cattle imported from the Iberian Peninsula spread throughout America in the early years of discovery and colonization to originate Creole breeds, which adapted to a wide diversity of environments and later received influences from other origins, including zebu cattle in more recent years. We analyzed uniparental genetic markers and autosomal microsatellites in DNA samples from 114 cattle breeds distributed worldwide, including 40 Creole breeds representing the whole American continent, and samples from the Iberian Peninsula, British islands, Continental Europe, Africa and American zebu. We show that Creole breeds differ considerably from each other, and most have their own identity or group with others from neighboring regions. Results with mtDNA indicate that T1c-lineages are rare in Iberia but common in Africa and are well represented in Creoles from Brazil and Colombia, lending support to a direct African influence on Creoles. This is reinforced by the sharing of a unique Y-haplotype between cattle from Mozambique and Creoles from Argentina. Autosomal microsatellites indicate that Creoles occupy an intermediate position between African and European breeds, and some Creoles show a clear Iberian signature. Our results confirm the mixed ancestry of American Creole cattle and the role that African cattle have played in their development.

-The objectives of this work were to investigate the genetic structure of the Brazilian hair sheep breeds and to determine the origin of the Santa Inês breed. Molecular similarity was determined using Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA -Polymerase Chain Reaction markers in 238 individuals from five naturalized sheep breeds: Santa Inês (48 animals), Rabo Largo (48), Somali (48), Morada Nova (48) and Bergamasca (46), collected in Goiás, Sergipe, Bahia, and Ceará States as well as in the Federal District. Fifty-four loci were selected from 19 primers, after a pilot test using 140 primers. Qualitative analyses indicate diagnostic markers for all breeds. All breeds were significantly different from each other. Interbreed differences were explained by 14.92% of the total variation. Santa Inês clustered with Bergamasca (97% bootstrap) and with Rabo Largo, composing the third member of the group (81% bootstrap) while Morada Nova and Somali breeds clustered separately. Each breed should be considered as a separate management and conservation unit, and special care should be taken with Rabo Largo, Morada Nova and Somali breeds, represented by small herds in Brazil.

The Guzerat breed is well adapted to the tropical conditions of Brazil. After 1940, the widespread use of Guzerat cattle for crossing has reduced its population size. In 1994, a selection program for milk production traits was initiated in some purebred herds. However, its success is compromised by genetic drift and an increased inbreeding coefficient (F). The objective of this study was to evaluate the genetic status of the Guzerat population under selection for milk production in order to monitor genetic variability. Genealogical data from 10,051 animals were used to estimate genetic parameters. The average F for all animals and for inbred animals in the pedigree was 0.009 and 0.025, respectively. Average relatedness was 0.011. The average generation interval was 7.48 years and the linear increase in F per generation was 0.0051. There was no trend of changes in the effective population size along generations, with the observation of an effective size of 98 in the last generation evaluated. The effective number of founders and ancestors was 318 and 101, respectively. Only 47 of 2106 ancestors contributed to 50% of the reference population. The bottleneck effect was 3.15. Average F and relatedness values are still low despite non-random mating. However, the reduced effective population size and effective number of ancestors indicate a risk of an increase in the inbreeding coefficient and genetic drift and consequent loss of variability.

Brazil has various species of domestic animals, which developed from breeds brought by the Portuguese settlers soon after their discovery. For five centuries, these breeds have been subjected to natural selection in specific environments. Today, they present characteristics adapted to the specific Brazilian environmental conditions. These breeds developed in Brazil are known as "Crioulo," "local," or naturalized. From the beginning of the 20th century, some exotic breeds, selected in temperate regions, have begun to be imported. Although more productive, these breeds do not have adaptive traits, such as resistance to disease and parasites found in breeds considered to be "native." Even so, little by little, they replaced the native breeds, to such an extent that the latter are in danger of extinction. In 1983, to avoid the loss of this important genetic material, the National Research Center for Genetic Resources and Biotechnology (Cenargen) of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) decided to include conservation of animal genetic resources in its research program Conservation and Utilization of Genetic Resources. Until this time, they were only concerned with conservation of native plants. Conservation has been carried out by various research centers of Embrapa, universities, state research corporations, and private farmers, with a single coordinator at the national level, Cenargen. Specifically, conservation is being carried out by conservation nuclei, which are specific herds in which the animals are being conserved, situated in the habitats where the animals have been subjected to natural selection. This involves storage of semen and embryos from cattle, horses, buffaloes, donkeys, goats, sheep, and pigs. The Brazilian Animal Germplasm Bank is kept at Cenargen, which is responsible for the storage of semen and embryos of various breeds of domestic animals threatened with extinction, where almost 45,000 doses of semen and more than 200 embryos exist presently. An important challenge for this program is to make the different segments of society realize the importance of the conservation of animal genetic resources.

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