Conservation of Animal Genetics Resources in developing countries-Challenges and opportunities

Breed development is a dynamic process of genetic change driven by environmental conditions and selection by humans, the latter being shaped by the culture and the economic situation. The fact that ecosystems are dynamic and complex and that human preferences change, has resulted in the evolution of breeds and, until recently, a net increase in diversity over time. However, these genetic resources are being eroded as a result of changing agricultural practices and economic, environmental and other factors. Losses have been accelerated by rapid intensification of livestock production, a failure to evaluate local breeds, and inappropriate breed replacement or cross-breeding facilitated by the availability of highperforming breeds and reproductive biotechnologies. Of particular concern are the high rates of loss of indigenous breeds in developing countries, which, coupled with inadequate programmes for the use and management of the genetic resources, is negatively impacting on livelihood options for the poor. Wide agreement exists on the need to conserve the genetic diversity of animal genetic resource

RABBIT PRODUCTION VIS-À-VIS POVERTY ALLEVIATION AND FOOD SECURITY IN ASIA

This paper aims to create awareness among the public about the importance of rabbit farming to meet food crisis in the future. Rabbits can be easily reared by small-scale farmers in their  backyard  with  minimal  investments  for  more  income  generation.  Rabbits  make  use  of forages of low nutritive value to produces highly nutritious meat and the faeces of the rabbits can  be  used  as  an  alternative  to  inorganic  fertilizer,  this  interaction  between  rabbits  and  soil makes rabbit farming suitable for integrated farming system. Waste of  rabbits make excellent compost which in turn makes high quality organic fertilizer. The rabbit faeces were used in the manufacture  of  bio-digesters  and  the  fertilizer  value  of  the  faeces  aids  to  improve  the environment  by  reducing  methane  emissions.  Feeding  and  housing  management  of  rabbits were not much complicated. Rabbit house can be made from locally available materials and the rabbits can be fed with household wastes and the forages and legumes that can be cultivated within the farmers own farm, that should meet the animals daily needs. Thus the construction and off farm feed costs will be reduced. This makes sure that the rabbit farming will be well accepted by small scale farmers to meet both their nutritious and financial requirements. The farmers can also expand their farm to a commercial level, if guidance, knowledge and technical supports were provided and this makes the market to flood with rabbit in the future which is the only way for food security and employment generation

Effect of non-genetic factors on replacement rate and its components in Murrah buffaloes of Tamil Nadu

The average value (in %) for abnormal birth, male birth, female birth, death of female calves, culling of female calves, replacement rate on basis of total pregnancies and total female calves born were 2.82, 51.4, 48.6, 38.8, 21.2, 19.4 and 40.0 respectively. On an average 4 to 5 pregnancies were required for one female calf to reach milking herd. Among the non-genetic factors, period of birth contributed for major variation in replacement rate and its components. The effects of different non-genetic factors (viz. season, periods and parity) affecting replacement rate and its components revealed that period of birth affected the replacement rate and its components highly significantly (P<0.01). Beyond fifth lactation the efficacy of cows to replace a heifer decreased gradually

Analysis of production and reproduction performances of Soviet Chinchilla and White Giant rabbits in tropical climatic conditions of India

[EN] The aim of the present study was to analyse the influence of year, season and parity on productive and reproductive performances in 110 Soviet Chinchilla and 64 White Giant rabbits under tropical climatic conditions of Tamil Nadu in the period between 2005 and 2009. A total of 731 records for the overall leastsquares means for litter size at birth and weaning, litter weight at birth and weaning, average weight of kit at birth and weaning and pre-weaning growth rate in Soviet Chinchilla rabbits were 5.1±0.1, 3.7±0.1, 256.4±6.9 g, 2465.4±73.6 g, 50.4±0.7 g, 694.1±13.1 g and 15.3±0.3 g/d, respectively, and the values for White Giant rabbits were 5.1±0.1, 4.1±0.1, 259.6±6.1 g, 2432.6±68.7 g, 50.8±0.4 g, 614.6±13.5 g and 13.4±0.3 g/d, respectively. Breed had significant effect on litter size at weaning (P<0.01), average weight of kit at weaning (P<0.05) and pre-weaning growth rate (P<0.01). Year of birth had significant effect on litter size and litter weight at birth (P<0.05), litter size and litter weight at weaning (P<0.01), average weight of kits at weaning and pre-weaning growth rate (P<0.01) in Soviet Chinchilla and White Giant rabbits. Season of birth had significant effect on litter weight at birth and weaning (P<0.05), average weight of kits at birth (P<0.05) and weaning (P<0.01) and pre-weaning growth rate (P<0.01) in both the breeds. Parity had significant effect on litter weight and average weight of kits at weaning (P<0.01) and pre-weaning growth rate (P<0.01). The study revealed that the Soviet Chinchilla and White Giant breeds performed well in the tropical climatic conditions of Tamil Nadu and could be used for profitable meat production. The significant influence of factors such as year of birth and season of birth observed on different production traits emphasises the role played by the management in optimising the realisation of genetic potential under local agro-climatic conditions.Sivakumar, K.; Thiruvenkadan, A.; Ramesh Saravana Kumar, V.; Muralidharan, J.; Anandha Prakash Singh, D.; Saravanan, R.; Jeyakumar, M. (2013). Analysis of production and reproduction performances of Soviet Chinchilla and White Giant rabbits in tropical climatic conditions of India. World Rabbit Science. 21(2):101-106. doi:10.4995/wrs.2013.1208.SWORD10110621

Techniques of Using Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells as the Cellular System to Investigate How of the Bovine Species (Indian Zebu-Jersey Crossbreds) Responds to <em>in vitro</em> Thermal Stress Stimulation (Thermal Assault/Heat Shock)

Animal production is negatively impacted by global warming and is subject to serious consequences for livestock production systems. In order to understand how PBMCs of Indian Zebu-Jersey crossbreds respond to various levels and durations of thermal assault and heat shock, in this chapter we will discuss techniques involving in vitro thermal stress stimulation (TSS) to stimulate bovine peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) under various thermal assault conditions (TACs), including normal to extreme temperatures and varying durations of thermal exposure (DTEs). The consequences of thermal stress on bovine species can be lessened and managed with an understanding of how PBMCs as a cellular system respond to in vitro heat shock and thermal assault. To learn more about how Indian Zebu-Jersey crossbreds respond to in vitro thermal conditions, it may also be possible to explore the relationship between the decrease in PBMCs count during in vitro TSS and the expression of the heat shock protein genes (HSPs) such as HSPs 70 and 90 genes. This will be exploited to discover how Indian Zebu-Jersey crossbreds respond in vivo to diverse environmental thermal conditions and will further enable in vivo understanding of the potential for thermotolerance in bovine species for better adaptability, survival, and production performance