The status and need for characterization of Nordic animal genetic resources

ABSTRACT

The Nordic countries are committed to conserving farm animal genetic diversity. National reports on phenotypic and genetic characterization point towards a lack of characterization for many Nordic native breeds. Little to no knowledge on the traits of the animals and their derived products leads to potential remaining untapped. The objective of this study was to provide a quantitative assessment of phenotypic and genetic characterization of Nordic native breeds, through a literature search and obtaining census data. Six species and a total of 85 breeds were included. Studies were classified according to six different categories of characterization. Results showed that a large percentage of the breeds are not characterized at all. Moreover, most breeds have extremely low census sizes. A substantial effort to increase population sizes and document characteristics of Nordic native breeds, to promote conservation and sustainable use, is needed.

KEYWORDS:

• Farm animals
• genetic diversity
• conservation
• biodiversity
• Nordic cooperation
• native breeds

Acknowledgement

We would like to thank the national coordinators for animal genetic resources for their help in determining the breeds to be included and their helpful comments: Nina Sæther, NO; Mervi Honkatukia, FI; Eva-Marie Stålhammar, SE; Birna Kristín Baldursdóttir, IS; Malene Karup Palne, DK.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

ORCID

Line Sass Kierkegaard http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6758-9225