Genetic diversity and production potential of animal food resources: Review article

Abstract

The submission aims to present results of the five-year research project, oriented on the evaluation of genetic diversity of selected populations of economically important animal species in Slovakia, their sustainable adaptation and production potential in the context of preservation of genetic resources and food safety. Under the supervision of Department of Animal Genetics and Breeding Biology, Faculty of Agrobiology and Food Resources of the Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra run between 2015-2019 project called Molecular-genetic diversity and production potential of animal genetic resources in Slovakia (APVV-14-0054). Considering the difficulty and complexity of studied issues was research realized in close collaboration with the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU) and Zagreb University. Erosion of genetic diversity represents the main threat for food safety of mankind. Individuals of economically important animal species groups accumulate risks and threats of loss of sustainable adaptation as a reaction to the environment due to intense selective breeding. It is therefore important and needed to focus on permanent monitoring and evaluation of diversity of economically important breeds based on the diverse parameter and suitable methods.

The evaluation of the relationship of lactose to production and reproduction traits in different breeding conditions of the Slovak Spotted dairy cows

“…The evaluation of production traits, reproduction traits and relation between each other in dairy cows shows authors in Slovakia (Bujko et al, 2019 andKasarda et al, 2020), Czech (Stadnik et al, 2018) Austria (Costa et al, 2019), Poland (Satoła et al, 2017), Romania (Cziszter et al, 2017;Han andBobiş, 2019), New Zealand (Sneddon et al, 2015) and other authors who have dealt with the similar areas of research.…”

Linkage disequilibrium, genomic inbreeding and effective populations size to unravel population history

“…This also means that the economically important livestock species could potentially lose adaptation mechanisms as a result of intense selective breeding. In such populations a permanent diversity monitoring and evaluation procedures should be implemented (Kasarda et al, 2020).…”

“…The availability of molecular markers, most importantly, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) enables their use for a more detailed evaluation of genetic diversity. The utilization of such precise tools is becoming a necessity to monitor the animal genetic resources, to develop populations further (Moravčíková & Kasarda, 2020). One of the most important characteristics of genetic diversity is the effective population size (N e ) that is often used as a metric to determine the endangerment status of a breed.…”

Food Resources Biodiversity: The Case of Local Cattle in Slovakia

“…It should be emphasised that the intensive selection of the "best sires" for the insemination of large numbers of cows has led to a reduction in genetic diversity within breeds. Thus, the genetic diversity monitoring has taken on an essential role in the breeding programs, mainly in case of small endangered local populations that are an important part of small homelands [8].…”