The 10* NIAS INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON GENETIC RESOURCES

Present Status and Genetic Variability of Animal

Genetic Resources in Asian Region

Independent Administrative Agency

National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences (NIAS)

December ll-12, 2002

Sponsored by National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences

In corporation with
National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science (NILGS)
and
The Society for Researches on Native Livestock
Present Status and Genetic Variability of Animal
Genetic Resources in Asian Region
Proceedings of the 10th NIAS Ineternational Workshop on Genetic Resources

December ll-12, 2002

Tsukuba, Japan

Printed in Japan by Sato Printing Co., Ltd, Tsukuba, Japan

Pubulished by National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, Tsukuba, Japan
ISBN 4-931511-10-4
March 2004
 Contents
Page
Welcome Address OBATA, Taro 1

Keynote Address
Present Status of Asian Animal Genetic Resource and the Role of the
First Report on the State of World's Animal Genetic Resources
WAGNER,Hans-Gerhard 3

1
. Present Situation of Animal Genetic Resources in Each Asian Coun try
Present Situation of Domestic Animal Genetic Resources in China
ZHANG, Guixiang, Zhigang WANGand Feizhou SUN 13
Present Situation of Animal Genetic Resources in India TANEJA, Vijay Kumar 21
Present Situation of Animal Genetic Resources in Vietnam
THUY, Le Th1 and Nguyen Dang VHANG 33
Present Situation of Animal Genetic Resources in Japan MINEZAWA, Mitsuru 43

2. Status of Genetic Diversity in Each Asian Livestock from Genetic Survey in Asian Countries
Genetic Diversity of Native Cattle in Asia TANAKA, Kazuaki and Takao NAMIKAWA 53
Genetic Diversity of Asian Water Buffalo
FARUQUE, Md. Omar, Koh NOMURA, Yukimizu TAKAHASHI and Takashi AMANO 61
Distribution and Genetic Diversity of Domesticated Native Pigs in Asia,
Focusing on the Short-eared Pig KUROSAWA,Yaetsu and Kazue TANAKA 81
Mitochondrial DNA Diversity in Asian Goats MANNEN, Hideyuki 87
The Genetic Diversity of Chicken OKAMOTO, Shin 93

3. General Discussion
Chinese Animal Resources CHANG, Hong 101
Characterization and AnGR Inventory in Myanmar U Maung Maung Nyunt 102
Animal Genetic Resources in Korea CHO, Chang Yeon 105
Comprehensive Comment on Asian Native Domestic Animals NOZAWA,Ken 106

General Discussion 107

Closing Remarks KURISAKI, Junichi 110

Participants 111
 Introduction

Welcome Address

Keynote Address

Chairperson MIYAZAKI, S
WelcomeAddress

OBATA, Taro

Director of Genomeand Biodiversity Research,

National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences
Nataional Coordinator of Animal Genetic Resources

Distinguished guests and participants, on behalf of the National Institute of Agrobiological

Sciences, it is a great pleasure for me to welcome you all to the MAFF International Workshop on
Genetic Resources.
This is just the 10th workshop since the first one was organized by MAFF in 1994. The aims of
this workshop are to invite researchers from overseas to exchange research information and to
promote collaboration for the development of new genetic resource technologies for evaluation,
conservation and usage.
During the past nine years, many researchers have attended this workshop to discuss plants,
microbes and animals. As a result, this workshop has created a great variety of networks between
researchers in each of these fields.
Recently, the genetic diversity of animals has been reducing dramatically as a result of various
environmental changes. According to FAO statistics, of the 5,330 mammalian species and the 1,043
bird species, the proportion of breeds that have become extinct has increased from 23% to 35% and
from 51% to 63%, respectively. This is quite a serious problem.
The situation is particularly alarming in the Asian and Pacific Rim areas, where modernization
has been rapidly expanding and more than one-fifth of all the animal genetic resources in the world
are concentrated.
In order to pass the world's genetic resources on to the generations that follow us, it is very
important to strengthen research activities on animal genetic resources and it is also necessary to
build up international and regional networks among researchers in this field. I think it is our
responsibility to do these things for future generations.
Fortunately, FAO has planned the publication of reports on the animal genetic resources that
are being conserved throughout the world. These will be very important materials and should
clarify the current situation. Based on these reports, new strategies regarding the world's animal
genetic resources are likely to be developed.
With this in mind, today's workshop plans to focus on two major points. The first is the current
situation of animal genetic resources in the Asian region and the second is the current research
activities on gene analysis of the genetic diversity of Asian livestock.
In order for us to have an informative workshop, we have invited special guests from overseas
today. Dr. Hans Wagner will present the keynote address regarding FAO activities for animal

1
genetic resources around the world.
Dr. Guixiang Zhang from China, Dr. Kumar Taneja from India, Dr. Thi Thuy from Vietnam and
Dr. Omer Faruque from Bangladesh will be giving us presentations. In addition, we have also
invited some special commentators. Thank you all very much for joining us today in spite of your
busy schedules.
Furthermore, I would like to express our sincere gratitude to Professor Amano, who is the
vice-president of the Society for Research on Native Livestock, for assisting in the planning of this
workshop.
Finally, I would like to extend a warm welcome to all of our participants. I believe that today's
workshop can play a vital role in achieving new forms of research collaboration on animal genetic
resources.
Again, everyone, thank you very much for your kind cooperation.

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Keynote Address

Present Status of Asian Animal Genetic Resources and

the Role of the First Report on the State of World's
Animal Genetic Resources

Dr Hans-Gerhard WAGNER

Regional Animal Production Officer

FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
Bangkok, Thailand

Introduction

The Asia Region is characterized by a large range of agro-ecological zones ranging from the
mountainous areas of the Himalayan Region to the Atolls and small islands of the Pacific, and from
deserts in India, China and Australia to tropical rainforest in Malaysia and Indonesia. Many species
of animals are now domesticated throughout this vast region. Among the first were goats (Capra
hircus) and sheep (Ovis aries), which were domesticated about 10,000 years ago. The domestic
goat's ancestor is the bezoar goat from West-Asia, while sheep are descendent from the mouflon
sheep which was found in West and Central Asia. The wild ancestor of the domesticated pig is Sus
scrofa and domestication has occurred in several regions in the World, including Chinese breeds in
East Asia and a particularity breed, the Sulawesi Warty Pig (Sus celebis) in Sulawesi and other parts
of Indonesia. Other important domesticated animals come from the bovinae family, broadly divided
into the humped cattle (Bos indicus) domesticated in the Indus valley region and humpless (Bos
taurus), the Yak (Bos grunieinsis), the Mithin or Gaur (Bos frontalis) the Banteng (Bos javanicus)
and the buffalo (Bubalus bubahs) About 6000 B.C. chickens were domesticated in India from the
jungle fowl and are now by far the most common domestic animals (estimated at 5 billion
worldwide) Environmental diversity, as well as the effects of variable feed bases, disease stresses,
mutations and selective breeding have resulted in the development of a large number of breeds.

The Asia region contains more than one-fifth of the world's animal genetic resources, with
more than 1,200 domestic animal breeds recorded (the number is based on information provided
by countries for DAD-IS and considered an under-estimate) The majority of the world's buffaloes
and yaks, almost half of its muscovy ducks, pheasants and partridges, one-third of its pig breeds
and one quarter of its goat breeds are found in the region. (Table 1)

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Livestock sector trends and implications on AnGR
Population growth, urbanization and increased purchasing power have triggered an increased
demand for livestock goods and products worldwide with Asia accounting for the highest growth
rates. Livestock production is growing faster than any other agricultural sub-sector and it is
predicted that by 2020, livestock will produce more than half of the total global agricultural output
in value terms. This process has been referred to as the livestock revolution' (Delgado et al 1999)
The output from the livestock sector in Asia is increasing by 3.3 percent per annum, compared with
1.4 percent per annum for crop production. While the growth in Asia as a whole outpaces that of
other regions, the rates differ significantly among subregions of Asia because of the varying
availability of resources, systems of agriculture, culture and climate among other factors.
Livestock production is changing from a system that mobilizes surplus and waste resources
(backyard scraps, remote pastures, and grasses, all of which are indigestible to humans) to a
livestock sector which actively seeks new feed resources for the production of human food
products (Steinfeld, de Haan, and Blackburn 1997) As a consequence, most of the future demand
for livestock products will have to be met through the intensification of resource-rich mixed
crop/livestock production environments, by increasing the productivity of land and livestock. In
addition, peri-urban industrial-type livestock production, particularly of pigs and poultry, is mushrooming.
In the process of intensification, the environmental constraints to animal production are
alleviated or removed, as more and better resources, housing and veterinary care are provided.
This process is inevitably associated with marked changes in the genetic resources required since
some species and breeds can make better use of these high potential and much less variable
production environments. As a consequence more and more exotic germ-plasm is been used. The
manywidely differing, lower input production environments require highly adapted animal genetic
resources developed in each particular environment, to be able to realize good outputs in a
sustainable system.
While some loss of animal genetic resources is inevitable, and should be planned for, the
process of intensification is not always driven by rational principles, nor is it always accompanied by
appropriate technologies. First, there is a systematic and almost ubiquitous policy bias favouring
exotic breeds against indigenous breeds and only limited efforts are made to develop the latter. In
attempts to compare productivity of exotic and indigenous breeds, the breeds are not competing on
a level playing field. Governments often favour the introduction and spread of particular breeds,
farmers may preferentially feed and otherwise more intensively care for the exotic animals
(sometimes for years before they realize the drawbacks) Sometimes a serious natural disaster
such as a drought must occur to initiate awakening to these biases, for the exotic animals are often
the first to die under adverse conditions. In addition, it is often the case that the full costs are not
paid for exotic genetic material Superior livestock semen is provided to developing countries free
of charge, without progeny testing and disregarding the specific production environment in which
the semen is to be used. Genetic material is donated or given at low cost to speed up genetic
progress in developing countries. Furthermore, artificial insemination (AI) services to developing

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countries are often provided initially free of charge or real costs are not fully recovered. This
provides access to exotic genotypes at a lower cost than would be applied for AI of indigenous
breeds if the mechanisms were in place.
Producing food and agriculture from high-input, short-lifecycle exotic breeds implies a
different cost structure to those using indigenous breeds. In many countries, there are subsidies
on feed and other inputs which tend to favour exotic breeds as they make more extensive use of it
At a lower level, there may be subsidies on production inputs, such as fuel and fertilizer to produce
concentrate feed. Preferred credit schemes are likely to have a similar effect Other factors that
may affect breed choice include economy-wide policies and determinants such as exchange rates,
producer prices, inflation and interest rates. These trends favour loss of the indigenous animal
genetic diversity beyond the rate that would occur without distorting the food and agriculture
production intensification process. The FAO World Watch List for animal diversity indicates (based
on data provided by countries) the number of breeds for mammals (Table 2) which are at risk. The
relatively high numbers of breeds at risk for the species of commercial importance to food
production (pigs, sheep, goats and cattle) are an expression of the changes in the livestock sector
described above. The decline in horse breeds can be attributed to increased mechanization. Please
note, the changes from 1995 to 1999 are not necessary an indication of a true increase in breeds at
risk but more the result of more and better information due to improved reporting procedures.

The re-establishment of indigenous breeds to meet the demand of the people has been
repeatedly demonstrated to be extremely difficult Very often the adapted genetic material for the
required production environment has been decimated and cannot be found in the neighbouring
countries, and if it is found it is generally only in very small numbers.

FAO's Role
Global Strategy for the Management of Farm Animal Genetic Resources
Country recognition of the importance of animal genetic resources, of the need to sustainably
use, develop and conserve these essential resources, and of the poor state of their current
management, led the governing bodies of FAO to request the development of the Global Strategy
for the Management of Farm Animal Genetic Resources (FAO 1999) (Global Strategy) The
priority action is aimed at further enhancing awareness of the many roles and values of animal
genetic resources; providing a framework for local, national, regional and global efforts to better
use, develop and conserve these resources; and mobilizing the necessary financial support to
further development and implement the Strategy One of the activities within the Global Strategy
was the development of a first Report on the State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources.
Asia 's Pilot Function
The first Regional Project to address the issue of genetic erosion was funded by the
Government of Japan. It started in 1994 covering 12 Asian countries The objective was to evaluate
thoroughly the particular characteristics of the different breeds and strains; to strengthen, by

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appropriate breeding programmes, and by adjustments to the husbandry systems to which they
are particularly adapted, their prospects of survival, and to contribute to the balanced evolution of
the farming systems which are the basis of human food production in Asia. The Development
Objective was to identify, characterize and conserve Animal Genetic Resources so as to maintain
biological diversity for sustainable agriculture. The project was successful in providing training in
the area of animal genetic resources management, in supporting countries' activities in conserving
breeds which are in danger of extinction and particularly in raising broad awareness of the role and
the importance of the value of indigenous animal genetic resources. All of these countries have
developed comprehensive animal genetic resources management plans and in some countries
attempts are been made to put them into practice.

The First Report on the State of the World's ANGR

Recognizing that animal genetic resources are of crucial importance for the sustainable
utilization of many production systems, and are essential components for achieving global food
security and rural development, the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
suggested that FAO should coordinate the development of a country-driven Report on the State of
the World's Animal Genetic Resources (8th Regular Session 19-23 April 1999) ,

The specific outcomes pursued through the preparation of Country Reports and the first
Report on the State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources are:
. A detailed assessment of the state of genetic resources in the farm animal sector covering
utilization and conservation, as well as the related techniques being used (state of the
art), taking into account the production systems and socio-economic conditions of
each country.
. An analysis of the changing and growing demands on the farm animal sector and the
implications for future national policies and programmes concerning the sustainable
utilization and conservation of farm animal genetic resources.
. A detailed review of the state of national capacities related to farm animal genetic resources
and an overall assessment of capacity-building requirements.
. Identification of the priorities for the development of an enhanced national programme of
sustainable utilization and conservation of animal genetic resources in the farm
animal sector. National priorities may refer to animal species and breeds, to short-
term and long-term needs for institution building, research, information system
development, policy development, legislation, and regulations.
. Recommendations for international co-operation, priority areas, levels and modes of co-
operation that the country would wish to pursue, and proposed country contributions
and requirements to ensure sound strategic interventions to achieve the sustainable
use and conservation of animal genetic resources.

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 FAO has committed the Animal Production and Health Division (AGA) as the Global Focal
Point for Animal Genetic Resources to coordinate the overall preparation of the first Report on the
State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources. The Global Focal Point (consisting of the Animal
Genetic Resources Group in AGA) has been mandated to facilitate the preparation of the Country
Reports. All countries were invited by the Director-General of FAO in March 2001 to join in this
process and to submit to FAO, a government-endorsed Country Report As of November 2002, 137
countries have indicated that they will prepare such a Report Negative replies have only been
received from Brunei and DPR Korea. A few countries have not officially replied to the invitation
but have initiated the in-country process.

FAO has developed training programmes and materials, and through a Global Orientation and
Training Workshop held in Rome, in March 2001, has established a group of expert facilitators to
support the regional workshops. A set of definitions has been developed and distributed to promote
and achieve universal use of key terms. Between 2001 and 2002 14 regional training workshops
have been held involving 176 countries and providing training for 320 professionals. The training of
professionals and provision of relevant materials to them provided a solid foundation for ensuring
country reporting in all regions. The total cost of the regional training workshops was US $785,000,
with the majority of the extra-budgetary funding being provided from the Government of the
Netherlands, with significant contributions from the Government of Finland and the Nordic Gene Bank.

Significant efforts have been undertaken to keep stakeholders informed of progress in the
process for preparation the first Report on the State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources. The
Second Ad Hoc Session of International Stakeholders in Animal Genetic Resources was convened
in Rome in June 2001 Participants were informed of the process for developing the first Report on
the State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources, and were advised of opportunities for
stakeholder involvement throughout the process. Additional sessions will be convened as required
to keep stakeholders informed of progress, and to encourage their continued participation in the
State of the World process. FAO is also making efforts to more broadly enhance understanding of
the need for, and process for developing, the first Report on the State of the World's Animal Genetic
Resources. An FAO publication called Animal Genetic Resources Information Bulletin (AGRI) is
being used to inform and update a diverse readership of progress in the overall development of the
Global Strategy, and now serves as a key instrument in informing readers of progress in the
preparation of the first Report on the State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources. The
Guidelines for Country Reports were published in AGRI in all FAO languages (except Chinese) to
assist in gaining understanding of the scope of Country Reports, and to encourage participation in
their development The Domestic Animal Diversity - Information System is also being used to
convey understanding of the process for developing the first Report on the State of the World's
Animal Genetic Resources, as well as communicating progress through development of a new
element within the System.

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 Government endorsed final Country Reports (CR) are now expected to be submitted to FAO
by August 2003. Based on draft CRs (which are submitted already now), it is intended to organize
regional meetings to identify regional needs for animal genetic resources and to reach agreement
on priorities for action at the regional level Identified regional priorities will enable preparation of
the Strategic Priority Action Report - a preliminary global report on the state of animal genetic
resources and the capacity to management them. These findings will be presented to the
Commission at its Tenth Session in 2004. This regional approach will not only make it possible to
provide an advance report on the state of animal genetic resources to the Commission, it will also
be extremely beneficial in determining priorities for countries and donors for improved sustainable
use and development of these genetic resources in full consideration of all available production
environments. The regional process will also enable establishment of conservation priorities and
identification of appropriate measures for conservation taking into account local needs and
conditions

It is proposed that the Intergovernmental Technical Working Group on Animal Genetic

Resources for Food and Agriculture meet in 2003 to review overall progress in the preparation of
the first Report on the State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources focusing on the review of the
Strategic Priority Actions Report and options for a Follow-Up Mechanism. The Working Group will
also provide recommendations to the Tenth Session of the Commission on the content and format
of the first Report on the State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources.

The Strategic Priority Actions Report is intended to identify both capacity building
requirements, and specific needs for urgent action. The Report will provide a basis for the CGRFA
to consider an appropriate implementation or follow-up mechanism to ensure effective and timely
response to the first Report on the State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources when it is
completed in 2006. Perhaps most importantly, preparation of the Strategic Priority Actions Report
will assist governments to further develop and elaborate the first Report on the State of the World's
Animal Genetic Resources, as well as provide a solid foundation for responding to high priority
areas of commoninterest and concern before completion of the first Report on the State of the
World's Animal Genetic Resources.

Following the review of the Strategic Priority Actions Report by the ITWG and with direction
from the Commission on the content and format on the first Report on the State of the World's
Animal Genetic Resources, preparation of the Report will commence and continue through the
2004-2005 period. This will require further synthesis of Country Reports and Regional Priority
Reports, and review of reports from organizations and expert groups. The final Report is expected
to be negotiated at the tenth meeting of CGRFA in 2006.

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 Conclusions

Asia is a vital area for world animal genetic resources, with over 1,200 domestic animal breeds
recorded. The majority of the world's buffaloes and yaks, almost half of its Muscovy ducks,
pheasants and partridges, one-third of its pig breeds and one quarter of its goat breeds are found in
the region. The current and predictable dramatic increase in demand for livestock products of the
growing population, urbanization and purchasing power will result in a change of the livestock
sector to intensified and industrialized production systems with the use of exotic germ-plasm.
Achieving and maintaining "Food for All" will require sustainable intensification of agriculture.
The genetic make-up of an animal is the key to how they will respond to different aspects of the
total production environment, but particularly to climate, feed and water, exposure to disease and
type of husbandry.
The process of preparation of the first Report on the State of the World's AnGR, in addition to a
strong capacity building effect, will increase national and international awareness of the roles and
values of animal genetic resources for food security, and heighten the concern for their rapid loss.
The Strategic Actions Report will be the basis for effective action at the local, national, regional and
global levels.

Table 1 Total Population Size and Number of Breeds of the Major Livestock species in the
Asia and the Pacific Region and Their Share of the World Total
Population Number of Share of World Total
('OO0) size breeds Population (%) Breeds (%)
Buffalo 125 400 61 93 70
Cattle 461 200 236 35 19
Yak n/a 9 98 69
Goat 390 450 146 55 26
Sheep 408 100 233 39 18
Pig 525 600 184 55 37
Ass 14 890 12 34 12
Horse 14 860 83 25 ll
Camel 2 815 14 15 22
Chicken 6 182 000 124 45 18
Duck 717 800 45 92 45
Turkey 2 140 6 1 18
Goose (dom) 189 450 13 90 20
Source FAOSTAT(estimates 1999 live animal populations ) and WWL-DAD

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 Table 2 Risk status of Mammalian breeds for Asia and the Pacific 1995 - 1999

Risk status Extinct At Risk1 Not at Risk

unknown
1995 1999 1995 1999 1995 I 1999 1995 1 1999
Ass 8 4 0 0 1 2 8 6
Bactrian Camel 0 0 0 0 1 1 4 4
Buffalo 15 14 0 0 1 4 41 43
Cattle 72 76 11 19 12 28 106 132
Dromedary 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 9
Goat 30 29 1 1 6 8 90 109
Horse 29 21 4 2 17 19 26 43
Pig 44 60 12 14 15 16 98 108
Sheep 71 68 6 7 15 21 140 144
Yak 0 1 0 0 0 0 6 8
1 includes risk categories critical, critical maintained, endangered and endangered and maintained
Source World Watch List for Animal Diversity 3rd Edition

Obata: When weconsider the conservation of AnGRs, how is it possible to determine the priorities
for the long term or short term conservation of AnGRs? Would you give us some points to consider

Wagner: One of the top priorities is to get the SW-AnGRs reports completed by 2006. This does
not mean that we do not look at other activities in the area of AnGRs. FAO has quite a number of
activities that are looking into the sustainable development of local breeds, particularly in the
poultry sector and in the pig sector. The important part is, or the important aspect is to test or to
develop sustainable breeding programs. Looking over the developing world, which means Asia,
Africa and South America, there are only very few sustainable breeding programs that have been
sustained over a period of years and that have shown annual genetic progress. So if we want to
improve livestock production and if we want to improve livestock productivity, we have to improve
individual animal productivity. The increase in the cattle sector, in terms of output for example,
here in Asia and also in Africa, is mainly due to the increase in the number of animals, and it is not
an increase of productivity. So what we have to do in the future is to look at reducing the number
or, at least keeping number stable, but increasing the productivity of these animals However, to
increase productivity you have two major means, one is breeding and one is feeding. So let us
choose the one that we are working on in animal breeding; we should look at breeding programs
and development programs within the livestock sector. Since it is also an issue, a long discussion
issue, you cannot carry out breeding without feeding, and you cannot carry out breeding without
improving management So you have to address the whole complex of aspects of livestock
improvement The industry in the livestock sector and commercial sector will take off by itself.
There are market forces and there are monetary forces that drive this sector. But it has to be

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mentioned that livestock is a way out of poverty for many poor people, and these people should be
able to keep their indigenous breeds or breeds suited to the local environment However, we also
have to help them to develop these indigenous breeds, and this is one of our priorities in the near
future.

Taneja: What is the expected change, in terms of the contribution of livestock to agriculture as a
whole, from now to 2020 or in terms of retracing the last 20 years to look at the changes? The
second issue is that when we talked about the use of livestock manure, if you translate this in terms
of its fertilizer value - nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium - this comes out to be more than four
times the actual values that were estimated. If you have some useful information it would greatly
help in building up a case for the better management of resources.

Wagner: The present contribution of livestock to agriculture in terms of GDP is about 30-40%. It
varies very widely between countries. In certain African countries it was over 90% and in other
countries down to 10%. The fact is that the livestock sector will increase dramatically in the Asian
region and we have examples of this in Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and to a
lesser extent perhaps, also now in Vietnam. The major industrialized sectors of these countries and
their major commercial companies are also impacting on other neighboring countries such Laos
and Cambodia and so on, so it is just a question of time before this sector will become established.
Perhaps a small piece of information and a small indication for research here is that we think that
intensified and industrialized production will be necessary to supply food items. But we also realize
that this industrialized production is completely detached from the soil and creates dramatic
problems regarding the environment and pollution. We have areas in Thailand with a phosphorous
and nitrogen overload of 400-500%. The industrialized sector is able to produce at lower prices than
the traditional sector can. But the industrialized sector is polluting and is doing damage to the
environment for which they are not paying. So we are currently launching a project that is called
area wide integration. We are looking at the issues of industrialized production compared to small
scale production. If the resulting policy creates a level playing field between the traditional
producers and the industrialized producers, then perhaps traditional producers can compete better
than they can at the moment So this is the issue we are addressing in the Asian region in particular.

Miyazaki: From the point of view of AnGRs, ancestral or wild relatives of domestic animals are also
very important Do you have any program on these animals?

Wagner: FAO does not have such a specific program, but we know that quite a number of
countries have programs that look at these issues and at the wild ancestors of domestic species.

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1. Present situation of
Animal Genetic
Resources
in Each Asian Country

Chairpersons SASAKI, Y
IZAIKE, Y
 Present Situation of Domestic Animal Genetic Resources in China

Guixiang ZHANG, Zhigang WANG and Feizhou SUN

Center of Preservation and Utilization of Germplasm Resources of Domestic Animals and Forage,
National Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Service,
P.R.China Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing 100094,

1 Introduction

China is one of the countries that have the richest animal and poultry breed resources as a
gene pool in the world. The genetic diversification of domestic animal species in China, especially
the excellent germplasm characters of native breeds, was left over by our ancestors under several
thousand years' diversification in natural and ecological environment These native breeds were
playing an important role in history, for example, Chinese native pig breeds were introduced to
Rome as early as two thousand years ago, Chinese Langshan Chicken were introduced to the
United Kingdom in 1970s. More than 30 Chinese superior domestic animal and poultry breeds
such as Beijing Duck, Meishan Pig, Guanzhong Donkey, and Qinchuan Cattle have been exported
to some countries in Asia, Europe, America and Oceania. These native breeds exert a profound
influence on the development of the genetic diversification of domestic animal and poultry breeds
and animal husbandry industry throughout the world. They are essential raw materials in
developing new types and new breeds and will be contributing to the sustainable development of
animal production in the future.
According to "Animal Genetic Resources in China and Asia" by Changxin Wu in 1996, the
livestock and poultry genetic resources in China mainly include the following 12 species pig,
yellow cattle, yak, water buffalo, sheep, goat, horse, donkey, chicken, duck, goose, special fowl,
totaling 282 breeds (Table 1, the figure comes from "Animal and Poultry Breeds in China" in 1986,
not including other breeds from provinces of the country ), of which, there are 194 native breeds
(accounting for 68.8%), 45 developed breeds (accounting for 16.0%) and 43 introduced exotic
breeds (accounting for 15.2%)

2 Status of the Diversification Conservation of Domestic Animals

2.1 Status of threat to domestic animal species and breeds

The genetic resources of China's domestic animals have certain changes in 20 years. The
population of 41.9% of native breeds has decreased by different extent The extinct animal and
poultry resources are as follows: In 1993, The Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) had confirmed 10
extinction breeds. In 1999, MOA had confirmed 7 extinction breeds, ll critical breeds and 40
endangered breeds.

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 There are many factors that are responsible for the population decline of domestic animal
genetic resource. For example, the production performance of some native breeds could not meet
the demand of current market as well as an inadequate recognition of the special characters of
some native resources, therefore, the people introduced foreign exotic breeds to simply substitute
or blind cross with native breeds for improvement As such, it caused the quantity and homogeneity
of the population decline of some native breeds or even caused crisis in some native breeds. Once
a breed disappears, the loss would be invaluable. Therefore, it is essential to adopt powerful
conservation measures for preservation of them, otherwise, a relatively big risk exists in the
conservation of Chinese native animal and poultry breeds.

2.2 Policies Concerning Domestic Animal Conservation

The genetic resource preservation of domestic animals is a long-term, public welfare and
social cause. First of all, the Chinese Government has actively given support by enlisted it into the
development plan of national economy and social development, encourages enterprises and
individuals to take part in the conservation and scientific development of animal genetic resources.
Secondly, it is overall arranged and is responsible by governments at different levels. The central
government and local governments should formulate perfect, practical plans for animal and poultry
breed resources conservation and development Thirdly, the conservation work is combined with
development and utilization, with preservation as the major objective and combining conservation
with utilization and promoting conservation by utilization. Fourthly, combination of traditional
means with modern biotechnology, it is essential to bring into full play the roles of the conservation
farms and conservation areas while unfold conservation work by making use of embryo, sperm,
DNA and other modern conservation technologies and methods.
At present, MOA is drafting the "Animal Husbandry Law", which has integrated the
conservation of animal and poultry genetic resources as an important content in the Law. It has
concrete stipulations on the legal responsibility of conservation work, and this has made the
conservation work to follow legal procedures. Meanwhile, MOA has formulated the "Plan of
Animal and Poultry Genetic Resource Conservation", conscientiously implementing and improving
the system and science of our breed conservation work.

2.3 Progress of Animal and Poultry Genetic Resources Work

The Chinese Government has always attached great importance to the work of animal and
poultry breed resource conservation.
In order to clarify the animal and poultry germplasm in China, the Chinese Government had
started animal and poultry breed resource survey in the 1950s. Through 9 years of efforts, China
had clarified the breed resource status in developed areas and published "Pig Breeds in China",
"Cattle Breeds in China", "Sheep and Goat Breeds in China", "Poultry Breeds in China" and "Horse
and Donkey Breeds in China" In the past 20 years, China has unfolded systematic research on
germplasm characters of some animal and poultry breeds and genetic distance estimation, and

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achieved certain results in the theory of systematic conservation of animal and poultry breeds and
conservation methodology This has provided scientific support for the unfolding of conservation
work of animal and poultry breed resources.
In order to strengthen the conservation of native breeds, the Chinese Government has input
large quantities of funds and established a big batch of excellent native breed resource farm and
bull stations in various parts of the country.
In order to transfer the advantages of rich Chinese animal and poultry breed resources into
economic advantages, while strengthening conservation work, we have given focus on the
breeding and industrialization of animal and poultry breeds. In recent 20 years, we have used
modern breeding techniques and means in developing a huge batch of specialized lines and new
breeds. During the period of 1996-2001, the State had examined and approved a total number of 17
new animal and poultry breeds. Meanwhile, the methods of animal and poultry recourse
development and utilization move to the orientation of integration of breeding, production and
processing. Thus this has enabled China to keep the excellent characters of many local native
animal and poultry breeds and improved the production performance by a big margin.

2.4 Methods of Animal and Poultry Genetic Resource Conservation

At present, the conservation of animal and poultry breed resources in China has mainly
adopted three methods, i.e., living body conservation, cell conservation and gene conservation.
The three methods are complementary with each other, and composed of the main body of animal
and poultry genetic resources conservation at present time in China.
living body conservation:
The living body conservation is undertaken by the method of constructing conservation farm
and conservation areas in the original producing place or other established place of animal and
poultry genetic resources, for example, the Poultry Conservation Gene Bank in Jiangsu Province
has conserved 21 chicken breeds, with conservation scale of 200-300 chickens in each breed.
These places of genetic resources is responsible for formulating corresponding conservation
policies, such as forbidding cross with exotic breeds, formulating scientific and effective breeding
programs, avoiding inbreeding and other technical measures, etc. At present, this method are
fairly popular and play an active role in resource conservation work. In order to further select and
purify the quality of native breeds, the producing areas of various species have established
numerous selection breeding farms for horse, cattle, sheep and poultry through special funds
allocated by the government Meanwhile, China has also divided some corresponding conservation
areas. Through years of breeding and purification work, the quality of native breeds has been
improved significantly. These breeds have not only conserved, but also performance tested, which
has enabled China to further understand the characters of these breeds.
Cell conservation:
MOA established the Center of Preservation and Utilization of Germplasm Resources of
Domestic Animals and Forage in 1996. The center develops conservation technologies very rapidly.

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At present, it has conserved frozen embryos and frozen semen of 16 breeds of cattle, sheep and
other animals. Each breed has conserved 1500 ampoules of frozen semen and 100 frozen embryos.
There are two yak breeds in conservation, storing about 1500 ampoules of semen in each breed.
Gene Conservation
In the Center of Preservation and Utilization of Germplasm Resources of Domestic Animals
and Forage, we have preserved the blood samples of 58 Chinese native pig breeds, corresponding
extracted DNA samples of nearly 3600 individuals, some genetic materials of ear tissues and the
blood samples of 56 Chinese native cattle breeds including yellow cattle, yak and water buffalo.
Awareness of the value of genetic resources has stimulated the molecular level study of the genetic
diversity of indigenous breeds in recent years. In June of 2002, the center finished the project
"Measurement of Genetic Distances between Chinese Indigenous Pig Breeds" Its objectives are to
confirm the order of conservation among these breeds, to propose effective methods to maintain
and utilize them, and to estimate the diversity and genetic relationships of local pig breeds by
means of twenty-seven microsatellite recommended by the International Society of Animal
Genetics (ISAG) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Measurement of genetic
distances between Chinese indigenous cattle breeds are still going on.

2.5 Breed Special Character Identification

The domestic animal and poultry breeds of China have varied good performance characteristics
such as meat output, milking, wool and cashmere production, egg production, draft, high reproduction,
small body size, medicinal purpose and ornamental purpose, etc. Many breeds are well known in
the world for producing traditional style products.
Weshall describe the characters of China's native domestic animal resources as follows:

Pig: Most of the Chinese pig breeds are dual-purpose pigs. They are classified into large-, medium-
and small-types. Jinhua Pig has the characters of thin skin, fine bone and tender pork. It is the raw
material for making Jinhua hams. Gilts can be mated at the age of 3 months (body weight of 20 kg)
with a litter size of 14.25 piglets for sows. Wuzhishan Pig has small body weight and good
resistance, with a body weight of 35 kg for adult pig, lean meat percentage of 47.3%, litter size of 6-8.
It can be used as laboratory material for life science, nutrition science, birth control and comparative
medicine. Tibetan Pig is suitable to be used for all-year-round grazing and has the characters of
small in body size, thin skin and high lean meat percentage with an average body weight of 40 kg
for adult pigs. Rongchang Pig has the characters of good quality strong white coarse and long
bristles with a length of ll-15 cm and a maximumlength of 20 cm. The output of bristle is 250-300
grams per pig. Taihu Pig has the characters of big litter size and quality pork, with a litter size of
14.9 piglets for sows. The pre-slaughter weight is 61.5 kg with a dressing percentage of 66.7%, lean
meat percentage of 43.9%. It has good reputations for its high fecundity in the world.

Yellow Cattle: Famous excellent native breeds include Qinchuan Cattle, Luxi Cattle, Nanyang

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Cattle, Jinnan Cattle and Yanbian Cattle. Nanyang Cattle and Yanbian Cattle are located in hilly
regions, and the other three breeds are distributed in plains. These native cattle breeds are high in
confirmation and very strong with good draft capacity, fine meat performance. They are the basis
for developing and cultivating China's beef cattle.

Water Buffalo: China has a population of more than 20 million buffaloes. All of them belong to
Swamptype, but they are divided into four categories. Some of them are produced in Jiangsu,
Zhejiang and coastal regions, and are called Haizi water buffalo. Some of them are beach-lake
buffaloes produced in Boyang Lake, Dongting Lake and Honghu Lake regions, with strong
constitution, suitable for working in paddy field in South China. Wenzhou Buffalo has good milking
performance and high butter fat percentage.

Yak: Yaks are produced in the high frigid region above the altitude of over 3000 m in the Qinghai-
Tibetan Plateau and has the characters of dual-purpose of milk and meat, pack transportation and
producing hairs. It is very essential animal for herdsmen in Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau frigid pastoral
region. It is not only a production means but also living means. The white yak, produced in
Tianzhu Prefecture, Gansu Province, is a rare yak breed. According to statistics of 2001, China has
a total population of more than 14 million yaks, accounting for 95% of the world yak population.

Sheep: We have sheep breeds of wool purpose (carpet wool), meat purpose (coarse wool and fat
tail) , fur purpose and lamb skin purpose. Of which, the Tibetan Sheep produced in Qinghai-Tibetan
Plateau and the Hetian Sheep from Xinjiang have the characters of long wool and good elasticity
and belong to sheep breeds of quality carpet wool Aletai Sheep from Xinjiang has well-developed
fat rump and the Tan Sheep from Ningxia produces white fur coat after first shear, which is famous
worldwide. In addition, the Black Fur Sheep from Qinghai and Gansu, Hu Sheep from Jiangsu and
Zhejiang are famous breeds producing lambskin. Hu Sheep and Small-Tail Han Sheep have the
characters of early maturity, multiple lambs and high fertility.

Goat: The famous goat breeds include Zhongwei Goat, Liaoning Cashmere Goat, Jining Black Goat,
Inner Mongolia Cashmere Goat, Chengdu Ma Sheep. Zhongwei Goat produces white fur coat after
first shear with beautiful curl and evenly arranged wool Liaoning Cashmere Goat has the characters
of high cashmere output with long cashmere. Qingshan Goat from Jining has a hair coat of black
and white mixture with a color of black, pink black or iron black, with quality black fine long wool
and a productivity rate of 270% per lambing and two lambings per year. Chengdu Ma Goat has a
milk production of more than 150 kg per lactation, with milk fat of 6.47%, dense wool, durable and
can be divided in layer for use. The lambing percentage is 210% with two lambings per year.

Horse: Chinese horses belong to dual-purpose type. Mongolian Horse is high in speed during
short distance. Kazak Horse has good milking performance. Wuzhumuqin Horse is a dual purpose

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of riding and drafting, adapted to hard conditions among the Mongolian Horses. It is good in
walking with strong forces and working sustainable. Hequ Horse is suitable for working as a shaft
horse. Its draught force is equivalent to 80% of the body weight and sustainable. Yushu Horse is
adapted to plateau climate, and can walk freely in swamp, steep slopes, and narrow winding trail In
Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan provinces as well as Baise Prefecture, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous
Region, most of the adult horses has a height of about 1 meter, and is called short horse. These
horses have been used in developing urban tourism.

Donkey: The famous donkey breeds include Guanzhong Donkey, Dezhou Donkey and Jiami
Donkey. Guanzhong Donkey can be used as draft, ride and pack purpose. Male donkey has a
draught force of 93.8% of the body weight while female donkey can be used in pack and riding in
mountainous road.

Poultry: Most of the poultry breeds belong to dual-purpose breeds. Of which, some breeds, such
as Beijing You Chicken and Huiyang Chicken, have the characters of thin skin, fine bones, tender
meat and good flavor, and can be used as broiler breeds. Beijing Duck is a large-size meat purpose
duck famous in the world and can be used as the raw material for making "Beijing Roast Duck"
Gaoyou Duck can be used to make pressed salted duck, and is famous for its double yolk egg.
China has many excellent native breeds of egg layers, Xianju Chicken has an annual egg output of
200 with egg weight of 50 grams; Shao Duck has an annual egg output of 280-300 with egg weight
of 60-65 grams; and Huo Goose has an annual egg output of 100-120 with an egg weight of 128
grams. In addition, we also have Taihe Silk Fowl, which is a precious breed using as medicine.
The Chinese Fighting Fowl is used as ornamentals.
In the aspect of animal and poultry breed character identification, in addition to conventional
distribution, population, confirmation and production performance investigations, China has
unfolded germplasm study of major native poultry breeds. The study has systematically measured
the physiological and biochemical targets: meat quality, fat composition and carcass composition
and studies on some other flavor related materials. In recent 10 years, related research institutions
have conducted molecular level research on major animal and poultry genetic resources in China,
and found some genetic labeling of major economic characters. For example, the genetic labeling
includes the high fertility of Taihu Pig, quality flavor of native chicken breeds, and high fertility of
Small-tailed Han Sheep and microsatellite DNA genetic diversity on different breed of animal
species. This has provided scientific basis for the conservation, development and utilization of
genetic resources.

3 Development and Utilization Situation of Domestic Animal Genetic Resources

Domestic animal genetic resources are an important basis for livestock industry development
Over a long period of time, China has always followed the principle of combining development and
utilization with conservation in the aspect of development and utilization of domestic animal genetic

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resources.
MOA is responsible for the administration of genetic resources of domestic livestock and
poultry, with corresponding administrative institutions established in different provinces,
autonomous regions and municipalities and with the bureaus and stations of animal husbandry
established in different prefectures, cities, counties and towns. The National Examining and
Approving Committee for Livestock and Poultry Breeds has been established by MOA and the
corresponding committees have also been established in some local areas, which are responsible
for examining and approving new breeds and new lines.
In order to continuously develop and improve the quality and performance of domestic
animals, MOA has established associations, technical organizations and breeding centers of
breeding committee for some breeds. These organizations of association and breeding committees
have played an important role in improving the quality of domestic animal breeds in China.
By using the techniques of computer and Internet and on the basis of the supplementary
survey on animal and poultry breed resources, we have established the "China Information System
of Domestic Animal Genetic Resources" The Animal and Poultry Breed Resource Dynamic
Monitoring Center" is now under construction. The software package of the information system
can be applied in the administration of animal and poultry genetic resources throughout the country.
Here, the Chinese Government is willing to unfold cooperative research in the domain of
domestic animal genetic resources, and spare commonefforts in the conservation and utilization of
global domestic animal genetic resources and for a sustainable development of livestock industry.

1 According to "Animal Genetic Resources in China and Asia" in 1996

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Sasaki: In terms of living animals, is conservation being implemented in selected breeding farms?
Is the conservation of cattle on a private basis or is it supported by the government?

Zhang: They are private farms supported by farmer's associations.

Izaike: You mentioned the gene conservation program for pigs from this year. What is the purpose
of collecting ear tissue?

Zhang: For molecular analysis and cryopreservation.

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Present Situation of Animal Genetic Resources in India 1

V. K. TANEJA

Deputy Director General (Animal Sciences)

Indian Council of Agricultural Research
NewDelhi, India

Abstract

An analysis of present and future use of Animal Genetic Resources (AnGR) in the changing
production environment has been made. Issues relating to management of AnGR have been
identified. Present status of livestock resources has been discussed. Strategy and an action plan
for optimum management of AnGR has been formulated and is being discussed with various
stakeholders. The human resource and capacity needs for characterization and conservation of
AnGR have been identified.

The diverse animal genetic resources in India include a broad spectrum of native breeds of
cattle, buffaloes, goats, sheep, equines, camel and poultry (Table 1) Other animal species viz.,
mithun, yak, elephant, ducks, geese and quails are important component of animal wealth. No
specific breeds of pigs are available. A large number of non-recognized strains/breeds perhaps
variants of the recognized breeds also exist The country has some of the best breeds of draught
cattle, dairy buffaloes, carpet wool sheep and prolific goats.

The animal breeding and production strategies in recent times have been used to increase
milk, meat, wool and egg production to meet the market demands. This has led to the development
of some highly productive breeds/strains for extensive use and hence the local adopted breeds
capable of producing under low input are getting replaced with high producing genotypes. In
poultry, local breeds have totally been replaced with exotic germplasm. The usefulness of a breed
nowis judged on its present economic viability and not on its real genetic worth. It is difficult to
postulate as to what breed types would be needed in future and hence the need to conserve and
manage all diverse animal types as a part of genetic security. An attempt has been made to analyze
the present and future use of animal genetic resources in the changing production environment
and suggest strategies and an action plan for optimum management of animal genetic resources.

1 Paper presented at 'The 2002 NAAS International Workshop on Genetic Resources, Present Status and Genetic Variability
of Animal Genetic Resources in Asian Region", ll-12 December, 2002, Tsukuba, Japan.

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 Table 1 Biodiversity in animal genetic resources: names of accredited breeds

* Information on management practices, physical, economic and genetic parameters has been generated
through surveys and breed descriptors developed.
Among non-accredited breeds, information has been generated on Vechur, Punganur, Umblachery and
Kangayam cattle; Tarai and Swamp buffaloes, Garole sheep; Kodi Adu goat

Animal Production Systems and Genetic Resources

The livestock production systems and management practices are greatly influenced by
agriculture cropping pattern, climate and topography. The existing animal production systems can
broadly be classified as (i) small holder production with little or no land, and (îð) commercial
production more relevant to poultry and to some extent dairying with crossbred cows and
buffaloes especially in peri-urban areas. Although small holder animal production systems are
ecologically sustainable and economically viable, these cannot meet the growing food requirement
of large human population (Bhat and Taneja, 1998)

Sheep, goat, camel and to some extent cattle are raised on natural range lands, community
grazing lands and crop stubble. This system is coupled with low efficiency and is mostly
unorganized. The effects of migratory system on sheep, goat and cattle breeds need to be studied.
The underlying issues responsible for poor efficiency of this system should be addressed.

The animal genetic resources (AnGR) have also undergone changes due to introduction of
innovative technologies, fast changing production systems and industrialization. The impact of
these changes on animal genetic resources needs to be studied. In order to optimally utilize the
AnGR, the SWOT analysis of the resources across productive systems should be made for their

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present and future use and strategies developed for their optimum management and utilization.

Issues and Concerns

It is true that AnGR are crucial to food needs, employment, have social and religious value and
therefore should be managed. The major question is as to who (farmer vs. Government), how (in
situ and ex situ) and how long to conserve AnGR. The issues of conservation also need to be
deliberated in view of too many low producing populations, shortage of feeds and fodder and high
cost of conservation of AnGR.

Information on performance parameters (growth, production, reproduction and survival) of

indigenous breeds in relation to their native ecology, feed resources, prevalent management,
processing and marketing systems, economics and improvement programs is not available. This
needs to be generated through surveys to examine their use in the present and future production
systems. The methodologies to identify superior herds/flocks/individual animals to be utilized in
the breed improvement programme and conservation need to be worked out

Intermixing among the indigenous breeds and introduction of exotic germplasm for
crossbreeding for quick genetic improvement has led to dilution of breeds. The effects of
crossbreeding program on native breeds have not been meticulously studied, although it has been
held that they are among the casual factors for the degeneration of native germplasm.

The buffalo and crossbred cattle male calves are generally considered inferior as working
animals and willfully neglected to die. The slaughter of milch buffaloes after completion of lactation
in metropolitan cities is an endemic problem. The magnitude of this problem and its impact has
not been assessed.

Status of Animal Genetic Resources

Information on management practices, physical, economic and genetic parameters on some
important breeds generated through surveys involving a number of State Agriculture Universities
and NGO's has been documented and breed descriptors developed. Monographs on some of the
breeds have also been published. The methodologies for surveys have been standardized for
different species of livestock and poultry breeds. The questionnaires included information on
morphological and performance parameters and genetic profile including production system and
socio-economic status of farmers. The questionnaires are as per guidelines of FAO and modified for
Indian situation. An information system (AGRI-IS) has been developed for storing and retrieval of
information on AnGR of the country. Cytogenetic profile of various breeds of cattle, buffalo, sheep,
goats, pigs, poultry, yak and mithun have been established. Blood typing and biochemical
polymorphism studies on proteins and enzymes have been completed for some of the breeds.
Molecular genetic characterization using microsatellite markers is in progress.

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 The status of AnGR has been discussed in detail by Taneja and Sahai (1995) and Taneja and
Nivsarkar (1998) Species wise information in brief has been presented below.

Cattle: The cattle of Indian sub-continent are characterized by the presence of prominent hump,
long face, upright horns, looping ears, dewlap and slender legs. The duly accredited breeds have
been classified on functional utility as milch, draught and dual purpose. A number of crossbred
genotypes viz., Sunandni, Karan Swiss, Karan Fries and Frieswal have been evolved and breed
descriptors developed. Information on physical and economic parameters of important cattle
breeds has been discussed by Taneja et al (2002) Selection program for improving milk yield
through progeny testing in Sahiwal, Tharparkar, Gir and milk and draft in Ongole and Hariana are
in existence. Breed improvement programs for Rathi and Red Sindhi are also being initiated.
Around 1000 breedable females of each of these breeds spread over 3-4 locations are included in
the programme and 10-15 bulls are tested in each cycle (Taneja, 1999) A national programme on
cattle and buffalo improvement with focus on improvement of indigenous breeds is in existence.
Breeding farms for some of the important cattle and buffalo breeds are being strengthened to
provide quality bulls. A national cattle and buffalo breeding policy is being formulated.

A number of new strains viz., Panganur, Red Kandhari, Vechur, Bhagnari, Dhenani, Lohani,
Rojhan, Bengal, Chittagong Red, Nepalese Hill, Kchaha Siri, Tarai, Lulu and Sinhala have been
reported. Possibility of some of these being only phenotypic variants getting different names
cannot be ruled out Most of these breeds have shown decline in numbers. Punganur, Kangayam
and Vechur cattle breeds have special features of small size (Table 2) Long term conservation
programs both in situ and ex- situ for these breeds have been initiated.

Table 2 Important Parameters of Vechur, Kangayam and Punganur cattle

Source: * Final Report (1993-98) ICAR adhoc scheme on conservation of germplasm of Vechur cattle of the coastal
area and dwarf cattle of the high range of Kerala CAS, KAU, Mannuthy, Thnssur
** Final Report (1993-97) ICAR adhoc scheme "ASurvey of Kangayam Cattle TNVASU, Namakal
*** Final Report (1993-97) ICAR adhoc scheme on "Preservation and Improvement of Punganur breed of
cattle ANGRAU, Palamner, Andhra Pradesh.

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Buffalo: Both river and swampbuffaloes are available. Swamp buffaloes are found principally in
parts of Assam. The river buffaloes are distributed throughout the country and have been
developed for milk production. Murrah has been used as the major improver breed for grading
non-descript and other low producing buffaloes throughout the country. The information on
physical and economic characteristics of various buffalo breeds have been discussed by Bhat and
Taneja (1987) and issues relating to buffalo breeding research by Taneja (1998). Information on
population dynamics, physical and economic parameters of swamp and Toda buffaloes has been
presented in Table 3. The indiscriminate crossing of Surti with Murrah is seriously affecting the
population of Surti in its native tract Similarly, Bhadawari buffaloes known for high fat content are
being upgraded with Murrah. Toda buffaloes are also facing extinction through large scale
crossing with Murrah. Breeding strategies to conserve the affected breeds have been suggested.
Systematic progeny testing programs for Murrah, Jaffrabadi, Mehsana and Surti are in existence.
In addition, herd registration programs for Murrah, Surti and Jaffarabadi having minimum
lactation yield of 2000, 1600 and 1600 kg have also been taken-up to support conservation and
improvement efforts (Taneja et al, 2002)

Table 3 Important parameter of Toda and Swamp buffalo

Source: * Final Report (1993-96) ICAR adhoc scheme on "Evaluation and Conservation of
Toda Buffaloes" TNVASU, Sandynallah, Tamil Nadu.
** Final Report (1993-98) ICAR adhoc scheme on "AField Survey on the Performance
of Swamp Buffaloes of Assam" AAU, Khanapara, Guwahati, Assam.

Small Ruminants
Sheep and goat breeds have been classified and described according to geographical
distribution (Acharya, 1982; Khan and Taneja, 1996) There is a large inter-mixing among the
breeds in the region where two or more breeds exist There are no breed societies or agencies to
register breed-wise animals, maintain flock books or records and ensure purity of the breed.
Improvement programs for some of the indigenous breeds viz. Marwari, Chokla, Magra,
Changthangi, Deccani, Malpura, Mecheri, Muzzaffarnagari, Nali, Pattanwadi, Madras Red, Mandya
and Kashmir Merino are in progress. Open nucleus breeding system approach is being used to

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improve these breeds for wool and body weights. Breeds that are getting endangered and showing
decline in numbers are Gurej, Karnah, Bhakarwal, Jhakharana, Poonchi - all in Jammu and
Kashmir and Nilgiri, Muzaffarnagri, Malpura, Chokla, Jaisalmeri, Munjal, Chengthangi, Bonpala
and Mandya. Garole sheep though not in breed books has higher litter size (Table 4) and is
believed to have famous Borola gene. A project on genetic evaluation of this breed is in progress.

Table 4 Important parameters of Garole sheep

Source: Bose, S (1996) Studies on the productive and reproductive performance of sheep in
the saline and semi saline belt of West Bengal Ph.D. Thesis, West Bengal University
of Animal and Fishery Sciences, Kolkata.

Crossbreeding of some of the sheep indigenous breeds with exotic viz. Rambouillet and
Merino for improving wool production and quality and Dorset and Suffolk for improving feed
efficiency and growth have resulted in production of new strains viz., Bharat, Merino, Avivastra,
Nilgiri Synthetic (Sandyno) , Patanwadi Synthetic and Avikalin for wool and Avimanns for mutton.
Indian karakul, through crossing of Marwari, Malpura and Sonadi with Karakul, imported from
erstwhile Soviet Union, was also developed for pelt production. Most of these strains, however,
have existed at the research farms and not done well with the farmers due to lack of input and
expertise available under field conditions.
Goats of temperate Himalayan region (Gaddi, Changthangi, Khasi and Chegu) produce good
quality fibre and fine under coat called Cashmere or Pasimna. All the milch goat breeds Qamunapan,

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Beetal, Surti and Jharkhana) are found in north-western region in the country. The southern and
western regions mainly possess dual purpose breeds (milk and meat) The small sized meat breeds
viz., Black Bengal and Assam Hill goats known for their high prolific attributes need to be further
studied A breeding policy for goats which did not exist for long time is being put in place. Some of
the indigenous breeds viz. Beetal, Surti, Chegu and Jamunapari have shown decline in numbers.
Efforts are being made to conserve and improve these goat breeds.

Camel: Camel in India are mostly single humped (Camelus dromedaries), although few double
humped camels (Camelus bactrianus) are also present in Nubra Valley of Jammu and Kashmir.
Population structure, breed characteristics, management practices, disease incidence and draught
capacity of double humped camel have been studied. Females attain puberty at 3-4 years and the
reproductive life may continue unto 16-18 years. Annual hair production of adult camel varies from
3-4 kg. Milk production varies from 500-1254 litres in a lactation period 14-18 months The number
of double humped camel has gone up from 76 in the year 1996 to 105 in 2000 (Sahni, 2001)
Information on economic parameters for important camel breeds has been given in Table 5.

Table 5 Body weight (kg), reproductive parameters (days) and hair production (g/yr) in some
camel breeds

Source: Khanna, N.D., Rai, A.K., Tandon, S.N. and Sahni, M.S. (1993) Camel Genetic Resources in India. Proc.
Nat Sem. Agr & Cons 1993.

Pig: Systematic efforts for documentation of pig breeds have not been made. Some breeds based
on geographical distribution viz. Ankamali, Deshi, Andman & Nicobar and Indian wild boar have
been reported in literature. A number of exotic breeds namely Yorkshire, Landrace, Hampshire
and Poland China were introduced for crossing with local pigs. Crossbreds with 50% and 75%
exotic inheritance are being used for synthesis of the new genotypes suitable for commercial pig
farming. Information on comparative performance of local, exotic and graded pigs is given in Table 6.

Equines: The Zhanskar, Spiti, Manipuri and Bhutia horses are well adapted to hilly terrains. The
Marwari and Kathiawari breeds found in Rajasthan and Gujarat are showing decline in numbers
due to widespread crossbreeding and lack of incentive to breeders for keeping purebred animals.
Descript breeds of donkeys are not known.

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 Table 6 Comparative performance of local, exotic and graded pigs

Yak: The yaks are distributed mainly in Arunanchal Pradesh, Sikkim, hilly areas of Uttar Pradesh,
Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh region of Jammu & Kashmir. These have not been evaluated from
the standpoint of genetic homology, diversity and categorized into breeds. The yaks in Arunanchal
Pradesh, Sikkim and Ladakh are quite distinct in their phenotypic characteristics Nivsarkar et al
(1997) discussed the history of domestication, distribution, husbandry practices, present perspective
and future possibilities of Yak. Milk production in Yak varies from 130-150 kg in a lactation period
of 90-170 days. The fat content varies from 5.0 to ll.0%. Pure breeding of yak is practiced at high
altitudes (3000 m and above), while at lower altitudes (2000 and 3000 m) where farming is carried
out, yaks are usually crossed with local cattle. Among the offspring, the female crossbreds are
fertile whereas males are sterile. The crossbred females are superior to pure yak in milk
production and fertility.

Mithun: Mithun, the heavy bodied semi-domesticated animals are found in north-eastern states
of India usually below 3000 m. Information on the performance parameters of four strains of
Mithun is given in Table 7. A large variation in body weights was observed; Arunachalee and
Nagamese Mithun were heavier than Manipur and Mizoram thus suggesting that Arunachalee and

Table 7 Some production and reproduction on traits of Mithun

Source Annual Report (2000-2001) NRC on Mithun, Jharnapani, Nagaland.

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Nagamese strains could be developed for meat production. There has been extensive crossbreeding
of Mithun with local cattle. The crossbreds produce more milk than pure Mithun and are docile.
The crossbred males are named 'atsa' while the females are termed 'jatsamin' The Indian Council
of Agricultural Research has established a National Research Centre on Mithun in Nagaland. A
farm devoted to Mithun production has also been set up at Kamki in West Siang district.

Poultry: A wide variation among chicken breeds in relation to physical and production parameters
has been reported. Although exact information on the status of most of the chicken breeds is not
available, various reports suggest that indigenous poultry breeds are declining in numbers and
many of these are facing extinction. Late sexual maturity, poor egg production, slow growth and
small egg size are some of the disadvantages of native birds. Information on performance
parameters of Aseel breed under scavenging conditions has been presented in Table 8. Most of the
indigenous poultry breeds are well adapted and resistant to many diseases. Hence, there is an
urgent need to properly document these breeds.

Source: Network Project on Aseel - Final Report (1999)

Strategy and Action Plan

In an ultimate analysis all strategies for conservation of animal genetic resources should be
linked to their sustainable utilization. The livestock development programs should be organized to
enhance productivity while maintaining genetic purity of the breeds. This can be achieved through
(a) evaluation and monitoring of AnGR, developing breed improvement programs, preparing a
country report and a national plan for management of AnGR, (b) training of manpower specifically
for surveys, genetic characterization, cryogenic storage and data management, (c) addressing

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issues related to legal framework, IPR and sharing of benefits and (d) creating mass awareness
about relevance and use of AnGR. In order to address the above issues relating to AnGR , the
National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR) was established in 1984 with mandate of
"identification, evaluation, characterization and utilization of livestock and poultry genetic resources"
As breed wise census is not carried out, the limited option available is to generate required
information through surveys in the shortest possible time and use the information for developing
an action plan for optimum management of AnGR and to identify breeds that need immediate
conservation. In a general situation of constraints of funds, it would be difficult to suggest whole
hog conservation of every single breed population in the country. The immediate priority should
be to conserve useful genotypes facing extinction. Conservation per force will have to be done by
the farmers with some scheme of incentives by the Government for economic losses sustained by
the farmers in conserving uneconomic but useful breeds. India has agreed to participate in the
first report on the State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources, an initiative taken by FAO and a
country report on status of AnGR is being prepared. The country report would clearly bring out
the present usage of AnGR, their economics, future possible use, institutional strengths and
research and developmental priorities relating to management of AnGR including building capacity
and human resource. Some of the issues that merit immediate consideration are as follows:

Evaluation of AnGR and Preparation of Country Report

Information on some of the breeds has been generated and a database developed including
identifying factors threatening their status in the breeding tract The need is to generate
information on the remaining breeds in the shortest possible time, identify gaps and address them
on priority in a given time frame.

A number of variants of a given breed have been reported over time. These though phenotypically
different may be genetically alike. Such genotypes are being screened for differences if any using
DNA fingerprinting. A task force to develop parameters for accreditation of new breeds is being set
up. Valuation of breeds in their native environment is being taken up to assess their strength in the
changing production environment The model population size needed for in situ and ex situ (semen,
embryo) conservation of breeds in Indian context is being worked out National policy for
management of animal genetic resources with clear aims and objectives based on analysis of
livestock population and resources, breeding and health status, availability of feeds, production
systems and present and future market demands has been developed and is being discussed with
various stake holders. It is generally held that warning signals on the loss of bio-diversity emanate
when considerable damage has already taken place. To avoid this situation, a country watch list on
the pattern of FAO, based on reports of surveys/studies is being published and updated

Many of the native breeds are said to have advantages of fast growth, high prolificacy, disease
resistance, adaptability, hardiness and survival under low inputs. These qualities have not been

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genetically demonstrated. The focus of research now is to identify genes for fast growth,
adaptability, disease resistance and fertility in indigenous breeds so that these could be exploited
for higher livestock productivity.

HumanResource Development and Capacity building

Humanresource to address research priorities in the area of genetic characterization, long
term in-vitro storage and revival is being strengthened. Training courses on surveys, estimation of
population, semen sampling, embryo collection, establishment of live gene banks and health
regulations are being organized. Scientific and technical manpower is also being adequately
trained to correctly record the required parameters for developing breed descriptors. A course on
awareness and management of AnGR is being introduced in agricultural schools.

Legal Framework, IPR and Sharing of Benefits

The legal measures relating to conservation of animal genetic resources are grossly inadequate.
Appropriate legal instruments are being worked out to cover all aspects of breed utilization,
conservation, trade and marketing. It would be necessary to have a legal frame to regulate
mandates and operation of livestock farms and declare some of them as National Gene Banks. In
the new WTO structure and IPR regime, access to genetic resources and its transfer is becoming
restrictive. The ban on export of genetic resources has to be considered in a manner that access to
genetic resources is not denied. Similarly, the possible access to technology has to be examined so
that access to new technology is not denied. The AnGR are owned by communities and farmers
and hence the issues and mechanisms relating to sharing of benefits from AnGR and traditional
knowledge also need to be addressed.

Awareness of AnGR
Mass awareness programs about the present and future use of AnGR for food security need
full government support and people's participation. Educational and mass media, electronic media
and internet should be the corner stone of this campaign. Farmers who are the real custodian of
animal bio-diversity must be involved in the campaign. Breed societies, trusts and herd books
should be supported technically and financially. Farm womenplay a major role in feeding,
management and product utilization of livestock. They can greatly help in conservation of livestock
resources and should, therefore, be involved in decision making.

It is a matter of common knowledge that information on AnGR currently available is scanty,

scattered and needs consolidation and documentation. In this context, publication of monographs
on native breeds assumes considerable significance. This activity can also generate global interest
in some unique breeds and promote their market value. Country newsletter on animal genetic
resources has been introduced on the pattern of animal genetic resource information bulletin of
FAO.

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 References

Acharya, R.M. 1982. Sheep and Goat breeds in India. Rome FAO 1982. 190p (FAO Animal Production
and Health Paper No. 30)
Bhat, P.N. and Taneja, V.K. 1987. Genetics and Breeding of River Buffalo. IVRI Research Bulletin No.
5 (Animal Genetic Resource Group) , IVRI, Izatnagar, pp.1-62.
Bhat, P.N. and Taneja, V.K. 1998. Sustainable animal production systems in India: Issues and
approaches. Indian Journal of Animal Sciences, 67 (8-Special Issue) 701-712.
Khan, B.U. and Taneja, V.K. 1996. Current development in management of small ruminant genetic
resources; South and South-East Asia. VInternational Goat Conference: Round Table on Small
Ruminant Animal Genetic Resources, Beijing.
Nivsarkar, A.E., Gupta, S.C. and Gupta, Neelam. 1997. Yak Production. Indian Council of Agricultural
Research, Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi pp.394.
Sahni, M.S. 2001. Evaluation and conservation of double-humped camel (Camelus bactrianus) in
cold desert region. Final Report National Research Centre on Camel, Bikaner, India.
Taneja, V.K. 1998. Buffalo breeding research in India. The Indian Journal ofAnimal Sciences 67 (8 -
Special Issue) 713-719.
Taneja, V.K. 1999. Cattle Breeding Programmes in India. Proceedings Workshop on Developing
Breeding Strategies for Lower Input Animal Production Environments Bella, Italy. 22-25,
September, 1999, pp 445-454. ICAR Technical Series No. 3.
Taneja, V.K., Nagarshankar, R and Bhat, P.N. 2002. Cattle and Buffalo Breeding. Handbook of
Animal Husbandry. (Ed.) Taneja, V.K. Indian Council of Agriucltural Research, New Delhi pp.
1-43.

Taneja, V.K.and Nivsarkar, A.E. 1998. Evaluation and characterization of Animal Genetic Resources
in India - A network approach. Proceedings of 3rd Regional Training Workshop on "Conservation of
Domestic Diversity and TVNational Coordinators' Meeting. FAO, Bangkok.
Taneja, V.K. and Sahai, R. 1995. Conservation of Animal Genetic Resources in India - A Country
Report Proceedings, First National Coordinators Meeting. FAO, Bangkok, pp.51-85.

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Present Situation of Animal Genetic Resources in Vietnam

Le Thi THUY and Nguyen Dang VHANG

National Institute of Animal Husbandry, Vietnam

Key words: Vietnamese Animal Diversity and Conservation, Genetic Resources, Sustainable use

A. Introduction

Vietnam is situated in the South-Eastern Asia Vietnam is in Southeast Asia, border with China
in the North, Laos and Cambodia in the West, looks out on the Pacific Ocean. Vietnam is one of
the highest population density of Agricultural country in the world. The population of about 78
millions going at a rate 2.2% per year and has a mean density of 220 people per km2
Being not big in territory, having a superficies of over 330,000 km2, but Vietnam is one of 15
countries in the world richest in genetic resources. This wealth is brought about by the natural and
socio-cultural reason.
Natural conditions Vietnam stretches over 15 latitudes, from 8•‹30' to 23•‹30! N, so the climate
varies and differs distinctly from the North to the South. North Vietnam is located in the tropical
zone, but has cold winter due to monsoon influence, the climate, as a result, has sub-tropical
feature while the high mountainous areas are of temperate character. Vietnam topography is varied
and complex, mountains are of three fourths of the territory superficies, with steep mountains in
the north, the Central Highland is pretty flat and the fertile plains in the North and the South. The
variety in climate and geography is the main cause to the variety in agro-forestry biodiversity in
Vietnam. Vietnam is situated on the Indochina peninsular, the conjunction of the China and India
continents, so possesses a lot of species of plant and fauna on these two great continents. Vietnam
is on the conjunction of the Pacific and the Indian Oceans, thus in its development history, a great
deal of plant and fauna species from other continents have immigrated to Vietnam by sea.
Socio-cultural conditions Vietnam is a multi-ethnic country, of 54 different ethnicities. The
particular taming process of plants and animals and the habits of farming, utilizing products of
different ethnicities are the important causes to the abundance in agro-forestry biodiversity, of
remarkable notice is the diverse ethno-botany knowledge. Vietnam is acknowledged as a country
of early developed agricultural civilization, which is another cause to the agro-forestry diversity.
During the past 10 years, owing to government's renovation guideline started from the
changes of agricultural policies in the early 1980s, Vietnam's agricultural and rural economy has
been developing at rapid rate. It has also been the source supplying foodstuff to society, materials
and markets to many industries. This process has been developing in two directions: either more
prosperous or erosion. Thank to agricultural development and cultural exchange, animal genetic

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resources have got more diversified. Numerous commercial animal breeds have been introduced
into Vietnam. Many of the local breeds are facing extinction or endanger because their
performance, food conversion efficiency or lean meat percent are much lower than that of
imported breeds and Vietnamese producers are therefore unwilling to keep them.
The purpose of this paper is to appreciate the present situation of animal genetic resource and
their conservation, utilization, to give remaining problems, general directions and solutions for
management animal genetic resources in the coming years.

B. Present situation of Animal Genetic Resources

Vietnam fauna is known of 275 species and sub-species of animals, 1,026 species and sub-species
of birds, 260 species of reptiles, 32 species of amphibious, 500 fresh water fishes, about 2,000 sea
water fishes, and dozens of thousands of non-spine fauna. Endemic Vietnamese fauna are numerous,
including dozens of mammals, 10 species of birds, 60 fishes, etc. Since 1992, Vietnam has discovered
five more species of mammals unrecorded before, namely Pseudoryx nghetinhensis, Meganumtiacus
vuquangnesis, Pseudonovilos spirahs, Canimientiacus truongsonesis and Muntiacus piliatensis
Vietnam is considered as one of the world ancient animal domestication area. The husbandry
animals here include 12 species, namely Sus scrofa dom, Bos taurus, Carpa hircus, Ovis anes, Cervus
nippon, Cervus unicolor, Oryctolgus cuniculus, Gallus domesticus, Anas platyrhynchos, Cairina moschata,
Anser anser dom and Columba livia dom.
In total, 60 species of local animal species are found with the density of 1.520 spec/km2, a high
one compared to the world density of 0.098 spec/km2 They generally maintain adapting
characteristics to the living environment (harsh and special ecological condition), which may
provide useful or potentially useful genes or combinations of gene for future needs. For example,
prolifically and early maturity, heat tolerance, disease resistant, flavor meat
So far more than 100 races of different breed animals have been introduced into Vietnam,
adaptable to the natural conditions and making great contribution to Vietnam's animal husbandry.

1. Roles of Animal genetic resource in food security and poverty alleviation in Vietnam
At present, indigenous breeds play an important role for country's socio-economic development
1. 1. Poverty Alleviation
* Income earning: Sale of animals and products (meat, milk, egg, manure, etc.) Create many jobs
in rural areas and from that has come more income for the farmers. Crop production using
animals for draft power, transport, and manure for maintaining soil fertility. Prize animals such as
fighting cock, fighting bull, fancy chickens and birds. Part of agro-tourism such as elephant, etc.
* Reducing expenses: Minimum use of chemical fertilizer in crop production. No large investment
in purchase of tractor and farm implements. Little use of petroleum for farm production.
* Socio-economic benefits: Offer productive role for women, children, and the elderly e.g. in pig,
poultry and goat due to it links with work in the home. Use of animals in traditional ceremonies

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 e.g. use of chicken for ancestral worship. Use of animals in sports, shows or recreation such as
fighting cock, fighting bull, Socio-economic status. Loan collateral Other uses such as for dowry or
inheritance.
1.2. Food Sec00urity
* Major component in crop production e.g. rice production for family consumption: Draft
animals power for land preparation and transportation. Animals manure for fertilizer. Utilization
of crop residues to produce more foods from animals.
* Increase steady food supplies on family farm e.g. Backyard chickens provide daily meat and
eggs: Duck raising provides eggs and meat Goats and dairy cows provide meat and milk. Preserved
meat and traditionally processed animal products such as salted duck eggs, dry beef, pork rind.
* Provision of family food assurance in case of crop failure due to natural hazards such as
flood, drought, crop pests or diseases
Sale of animals to buy rice or other foods. Our farmers do not usually send crops directly
(paddy, cassava, sweet potato etc. ) to the market but use the surplus crops as animal feed to
produce animal product to gain more money. The different expenses of life: food (a part), clothes,
educational fee for children, medicine, weddings, funerals, almost all of them come from the
income from animal husbandry.

2. Livestock production
This occupies 20% of agricultural output value. The importance of livestock production and the
annual increase of the populations can be seen from following table

Table 1 Livestock population in Vietnam from 1990-2001

National Statistical Sources 2002

With the development of economy, intensification is increasingly developed to meet the

demands of higher living standards of growing population. To do this well, agriculture and rural
economy has not only to achieve high growth but also to develop sustainably, to enhance the
quality of products, efficiency and competitiveness.

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 Table 2. Perspective of livestock population of period of 2000-2001-2005 and 2010

Sources Extension Dept-MARD 2002.

3. Review of animal genetic resources in Vietnam

3. 1. Pig genetic resources.
In Vietnam Pig is the most important in livestock production. It is estimated 74% of total meat
production. There are 20 pig breeds currently exist in Vietnam in which 14 breeds are native
breeds. They are: Black I, Rough I , Mong cai, Ba Xuyen, Thuoc nhieu, Meo, Soc, Muong Khuong,
Mini, SonVi, Ban, Lang hong, Co, H'mong pig breeds. Main of native breeds is Mong cai Exotic
breeds are: Landrace, Yorkshire, Duroc, Pietrain, Hampshire, Berkshire.
3.2. Cattle genetic resources: 5 in 21 breeds are native cattle.
Yellow Cattle, U dau riu, H'mong, Phu Yen, Thanh hoa, Nghe An, Ba Ria, Coc, Laisind cattle,
most of them is Yellow cattle. Exotic cattle breeds includes: Red Shind, Holstein Frisian, Ongole,
Sahiwall, Hereford, Simmental, Limousine, Crimousine, Santa Gertrudis, Red Brahman, Grey
Brahma, Brown Swiss, Charolais, Drought master, Jersey cattle. Native breeds are raised for draft,
meat, exotic are raised for milk and meat
3.3. Buffalo genetic resources: They are kept for draft, meat
Small Buffalo (Re buffalo), Big buffalo (Ngo buffalo), Indian Murrah Buffalo. The Vietnam
buffalo breed had crossed with Murrah for milk.
3.4. Horse genetic resources. They are kept as pack and riding animals that include: Vietnam
White, Grey horse and Russian Carbading horse.
3.5. Chicken genetic resources.
There are 16 native breeds: They are Ri, Te, Mia, Ho, Dong Tao, Tau Vang, Ac, Oke, H'mong
Brown, H'mong White, H'Mong Black, Van Phu, Tre, Choi, Lun, Rhode Ri. About 85% of native
chicken is Ri chicken All native chickens are reared in scavenging backyard system with house
waste in the rural areas. They are characterized by broodiness. Their meat is said to be tastier than
broiler breeds.
13 Exotic breeds were introduced to Vietnam in recent years: Tarn hoang 882, Tarn hoang
Jiangcun, Kabir, Luong Phuong, Egyptian, Hungari Golden, Leghorn, Rhode Island, New Hampshire,
Goldline, Sao Chicken. The exotic chickens are use for improving native chicken by crossbreeding

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schemes.
3.6. Duck genetic resources.
There are 5 native duck breeds and 3 exotic breeds in Vietnam but most of them are "Co"
duck (it occupies 78-80% of duck breeds) All of them are raised for egg and meat Bau quy, Bau
ben, Co, Ki Lau, Hoa ducks. Exotic are: Cherry Valley, Khaki Campbell, Pekin ducks.
3.7. Muscovy duck genetic resources. There are three native Muscovy duck breeds in
Vietnam. They are called according to their feather color: Namely "Re" (white color) , "Trau" (black
color) and "Sen" (mixed white and black color) French Muscovy: R31, R51, R71, and French
weighty Muscovy ducks. They are raised for meat
3.8. Goose genetic resources: Two of them are native. De, Co geese and three of them are
exotic: Lion, German Rheinland, French Landest geese. They are kept for meat, and liver.
3.9. Goat genetic resources. There are "Co" goat (grass goat) with different color, white, black,
gray and mixed black and white, and Bach Thao goat They are raised for meat Three of exotic are
used for milking: Barbary, Jamnapari, Beatle goats.
3.10. Rabbit genetic resources: Vietnam Black and Grey rabbit breeds and New Zealand,
California Rabbit breeds. They are raised for meat
3.11. Sheep genetic resources. The Phan rang sheep breed is the only sheep that survived in
Vietnam. The wool is white. They belong to meat type.
3.12. Sika deer genetic resources. Sika deer is in extinct in the wild in Vietnam, but about
10.000 heads are kept in the central North part of Vietnam. The biological character has been
described. They are kept for velvet and meat
3. 13. Sambar deer genetic resources. They are kept for meat and velvet
3.14. Pigeon genetic resources. They are kept for meat There is only one native Pigeon breed
and two exotic: French Titan and French Mimass pigeon.
3. 15. Ostrich genetic resources. They are were imported to Vietnam for meat production. There
are African and Australian ostrich.
3. 16. Turkey genetic resources. They are kept for meat Vietnam Turkey and French white and
black Turkey.
3.17. Crocodile genetic resources. They are kept for meat and skin: Vietnam Crocodile and
Cuba Crocodile.

4. Animal genetic conservation program

The Vietnam Government and scientists have applied much effort to the conservation of
animal genetic resources since 1989 and the action plan for sustainable conservation of biological
diversity was also established.
4. 1. Objectives conservation program
The conservation duty focuses on protection and strengthening of production sustainability
and minimization of risks in animal raising; maintenance of gene pool to create new breeds for
animal husbandry; maintenance of gene pool to meet the demand for breeding new animal races in

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the future. The main issues are rehabilitate and maintain animal races that are in extinction risk,
prevent races extinction; improve in-situ conservation in native areas, promote conservation
through use; maintain in-vitro genetic materials of specially necessary races to avoid inbreeding
when the herd in maintaining is too small, and to provide genetic materials for direct use breeding
newraces as below:
* To survey for collecting informative data on physiology, genetic and economic related traits for
characterization of native breeds. Developing alternative stocks with characteristics of native
breeds for meeting a wide variety of market production condition.
* To help farmers to in-situ conservation, establish small farms for conservation the species that
really endangered.
* To establish systematic ex-situ conservation for genetic materials: semen, embryos, somatic cells
and DNA samples.
* To step by step using bio-techniques to analysis animal genetic resources for identifying:
- The genetic relations within and between breeds for animal classification
-
Economic important traits and unique traits for today and future use.
* To census, survey existing breeds, exploit unknown breeds for establishment information system
* Internal and external information exchange.

4.2. Achievements
4.2.1 Rescued some breeds were threatened of extinction such as: I pig, Ho chicken and 20 other
livestock breeds are given in protection network.
4.4.2. Some breeds had been recovered and developed to supply market demand: Phan rang sheep,
Mong cai pig, Ac chicken, Bach Thao goat
4.2.3. Creating new products having both high productivity and high quality by crossbreeding
between exotic and indigenous breeds (for example, Dong Tao x Tam Hoang chicken, Mia x Kabir
chicken, Co x Bau duck, Mong cai x Landrace pig. )
4.2.4. New genetic resources have been found by surveys: Udauriu cattle, H'Mong cattle, Mini pig,
H'mong chicken, Hoa duck.
4.2.5. A data base for breeds in Vietnam following FAO standard and has been built
4.2.6. It has been built - Conservation network whole country
- National conservation policies
-
Data base for breeds in Vietnam following FAO standard.
4.2.7. A conservation farm at NIAH has built for ex-situ live conservation and keeping endangered
breeds.
4.2.8. Ex-situ conservation system has been established for conservation: semen, oocytes, embryos,
somatic cells. The genomic DNA samples and somatic cells of 32 native animal and poultry breeds
were preserved. Animal Molecular Genetic Lab. for genetic study has been established and started
studying on DNA polymorphisms.
4.2.9. Published WEB site and two books on animal conservation.

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5, About conservation of wildlife gene sources
Wildlife has been rapidly draining out, and many species have become extinct due to illegal
hunting and trading. This leads to the mission of wildlife gene sources conservation executed by
the Forest Control Department under MARD, starting in 1997. Wildlife is protected, i.e. in-situ
conserved, at National Parks, Natural Conservation Areas, and Specific Forests. Wildlife ex-situ
conservation in combination with scientific research and tourism development has drawn more
investment in two big zoos in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
At present, Vietnam has three Programs on Wildlife Conservation of Top Importance: Elephas
maximus, Trachypithecus sp. and Phanthera tigns conservation.

C. Approaches to conservation and exploitation, sustainable utilization of animal

genetic resources in Vietnam in the period of 2001-2010

Animal diversity is invaluable treasure for agricultural development particularly and socio-
economic development generally. Today, for sustainable development, among natural resources, it
is necessary to highly value animal genetic resources as much as land resources and water resources
Contradicts often appear between conservation and development An overlook of diversity situation
in some developed countries: unawareness of solution to such contradicts and abiding market-
oriented benefits have resulted in deteriorated animal biodiversity to the extent unrecoverable.
Vietnam has taken such lessons and promoted advanced technologies of the present technological
revolution to effectively conserve its own biological resources in order to serve the national socio-
economic goals and share the world benefits.
Genetic resources are those of reproduced ones, which can be made more diverse and richer
if they are properly exploited. Therefore, in the long term, to minimize contradicts between
conservation and exploitation of animal diversity, Vietnam highly respects approaches of conservation
through use so as to ensure sustainable exploitation of his own. For genetic resources, conservation
usually includes preservation or maintenance, characterization, evaluation and utilization. Some
particular approaches are presented as follows:

1. Social Approaches
The measures in details are below:
* Raising community awareness of position and importance of animal biodiversity.
This can be done by means of
-
Promoting constant propaganda on mass media,
- The conservation should be placed within the framework of a measure towards sustainable
agricultural development and food security. Conservation of animal diversity must become a
commonissue attracting relevant attention when working out policies for agricultural development
in particular and socio-economic development in general at all levels from the central to the
localities.

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 -
Contents of agro-forestry biodiversity conservation should be introduced to educational
programs at different levels, from general secondary education to university in the facilities of
agriculture and biology
Linking animal biodiversity conservation to national culture conservation
National cultural diversity is a major cause to the animal diversity, which is most obvious in
mountainous areas. Therefore, to effectively conserve biodiversity, it is necessary to link it to the
cultural conservation. This is suitable to the current direction of Vietnam in rehabilitating and
preserving traditional cultures. Practical contents of conservation should be made in details so as
relevant policies and measures can be worked out
Defining proper economic mechanism and regulation for agro- forestry biodiversity conservation
Market-oriented economy is the main factor to decrease animal diversity. It is normally
perceived that diversity is linked to backward. But it is perceived by all that this biodiversity
decreasing and draining has caused instability in development process and progress making. To
preserve animal genetic resources and animal husbandry systems, animal products must possess
economic significance. In detail, outlets for these products must be found. Variety of foods is the
major factor to reinforce health and alleviate diseases. Cut down on food stuffs means dependence
on actual conditions and is human habit rather than interests. Therefore, warning of varied
foodstuffs, food from fauna to create outlets for products is feasible, which is to seek relevant
economic mechanism for animal biodiversity conservation.
Developing and perfecting legal documents on agro- forestry biodiversity conservation
Presently, Vietnam Government issued Decree 07-CP and Decree 08-CP in 1996 on
Management of Crop Varieties and Animal Husbandry Races, Decision 845/ TTg in 1995 passed by
Prime Minister on Actions for Biodiversity. These are most important documents related to the
agro-forestry biodiversity conservation in general and animal diversity in particular in Vietnam.
However, many detailed regulations are needed to bring conservation to order. Defining agro-
forestry biodiversity conservation is the task controlled by the Government, requiring relevant
investment policies. Vietnam is inclined to improve management, decrease medium agents, avoid
overlapping assignments to promote investment efficiency.

2. Technical Approaches
* Scientific training program relevant to the science and technology in identification of genetic
variation between breeds having different locations as well as economic important and unique
traits for today and future use.
* Establishment and enhancing of facilities for cryo-preservation of animal genetic materials.
Developing the National Animal Genebank, special concentration to equip the modern laboratory
for molecular genetic research.
* Enhancing of conservation network from officials to grassroots. Improving of the genetic
resources information system whole the country for surveying and monitoring population size of
animals as well as reducing the loss of domestic diversity.

40
* Transforming market potential breeds in to production by political supports for long-term
breeding programs. Diversity gene pool in animal production is the most important measure to
realize conservation through use of genetic resources. This work is to promote sustainability of
production and efficiency in agricultural environmental protection. Diversifying gene pool in
production needs to be made through detailed agro-promotion missions in the national
agriculture extension policy.
* Publishing Domestic Animal Diversity Information System (DADIS) on Internet standardized by FAO.

Reference

1. L.V.Ly (2001) On the results of livestock genetic conservation in Vietnam from 1990 to 2001.
Proceeding of the National and planning workshop on Biodiversity. Hanoi, Vietnam.
2 L.T.Thuy (1999) Animal genetic resources - conservation and use in Vietnam 1998-1999
Proceeding of the 6th workshop on animal genetic Resources in Asia. FAO, Bangkok, pp 46-49
3. L.T.Thuy, L.V.Ly, N.D.Vang Animal genetic resources and their conservation in Vietnam.
Proceeding in the 5th Global conference on conservation of domestic animal genetic resources,
Brasilia, Brazil, 20-24 November, 2000.
4. L.T.Thuy (2001) Vietnam Animal Genetic Resources conservation and Utilization -future planed
and potential activities Proceeding of the workshop Sustainable management of animal
genetic resources for improving human liveryhoods in Asia, IRRI, The Philippine, 7-9
November, 2001
5. Annual report on animal genetic conservation in Vietnam from 1990 to 2001, Ministry for
Science Technology and Environment
6. D.T.Liem (2001) Biodiversity approach in Poultry breeding in Vietnam Agricultural publishing
house. Hanoi Vietnam.
7. B.B.Bong and L. N.Trinh. (2001) Approaches on conservation, exploitation and sustainable use
of Agro-forestry biodiversity in Vietnam. National report on biodiversity conservation, 2001
8. Conservation Results of Agrobiological resources of Vietnam (2002) Ministry of Agriculture
Rural and Development Agriculture publishing 2002

Furukawa: Recently, your country found a new species of mammal in a mountainous area. Do you
have any collaboration with such wildlife researchers? You have some breeds kept solely by
minorities. Do you have programs to support minorities for the in situ conservation of breeds
husbanded by such minority groups?

Thuy: We have discovered five new species since 1992. At the moment, we only work for the
national purpose, but are promoting a research program from 2003 or 2004. It is just a proposal to
the government If our research proposal is accepted, we will start research from next year.
We have found minority breeds in mountain areas. In situ conservation in some areas,

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including native pig breeds, is supported by the Vietnamese government and US$60,000 is
provided annually for all species.
Present Situation of Animal Genetic Resources in Japan

MINEZAWA, Mitsuru

Animal Genetic Resources Laboratory

Genebank, National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences
1-2-1 Kannondai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8602, Japan

Japan is located between longitudes 123•‹ and 149•‹ east and latitudes 24•‹ and 46•‹ north.
Situated in East Asia, the country is made up of a group of islands surrounded by the Pacific Ocean
to the east and the Japan Sea to the west, extending far longer in the south-north direction than in
the east-west direction. It has a natural land area of 378,000 km2 The climate differs greatly
between the southern and northern regions; some regions belong to the subarctic zone while
others are subtropical Rice cropping is mainstream in Japanese agriculture though the form of
cultivation varies from region to region.
Agricultural production in Japan is valued at 9.12 trillion yen, 72.3% of which is accounted for
by field husbandry. That is to say, 26.9% (2.45 trillion yen) of the value of total production is
generated by livestock farming, which exceeds the figure for rice production (25.5%)
The population of Japan is 127 million, with 47.06 million dwellings (2000) Of these, the
farming population totals 13.46 million people with 3.12 million dwellings, while households
involved in livestock farming account for 160,000 dwellings. Agricultural households account for
10.6% of the population and 6.6% of all dwellings, while households involved in livestock farming
account for 5% of these figures, which is equivalent to 0.7% of the total national figure.

1. The historical features influencing animal production in Japan

The history of the raising of domestic animals for practical food production in Japan is
extremely short compared to that of Europe.
Domestic animals, such as pig, cattle and chicken had been introduced in late Jomon Era (-BC
500) to Yayoi Era (BC500-AD300) However, government banned slaughtering of animals, such as
cattle, horse and chicken, during the period from 650 to 750, because Buddhism had been
introduced and prohibited the eating of meats. Those forbiddances suggested meat were eaten by
people of the period. After the prohibitory edict, the use of meat and milk became less common.
Main purpose of animals breeding was for transportation of goods, farming, or military power such
as horse and manure production and utilization of animal products had not become popular until
Meiji era (1868-1912)
In regions south of Kyushu, however particularly in Okinawa, pigs and goats have been bred
for food for centuries even before Meiji era. Okinawa, on which Japan's feudal government in Edo
era had little influence, has used pigs for rituals and goats for special events for food. A culture

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peculiar to Okinawa has evolved through these customs and rituals. From the Tohoku region to
Hokkaido, hunting provided some animal meat for food.
Though meat has been consumed in central part of Japan only for about 130 years, which was
the beginning of the Meiji era, it has only reached widespread popularity in the last 40 years.
Therefore, Japanese livestock breeds were not subject to improvement techniques for milk and
meat production before the mid 1950's.
While the necessity for draft animals become lower by prevalence of farm machinery, the age
of smallholder where small numbers of livestock were reared for farm work was terminated.
The demand to animal products increased along with a rapid growth of Japanese economy, and
legislation, such as Law for Improvement and Increased Production of Livestock and Agricultural
Basic Law, the measure and the basis of a lending facility based on it, consistently promoted scale
expansion of farm.

2. Assessing the state of conservation of domestic animal diversity of Japan

Breeds covered in livestock-related statistics and other native species and populations include:
9 beef cattle breeds, 7 dairy cow breeds; 12 pig breeds (including wild boars and counting Kagoshima
Black Pig and Berkshire separately), 12 horse breeds and populations; 3 goats breeds and
populations; 2 sheep breeds; one breed of rabbit, and 6 other mammal species (Table 1-1) There
are 38 chicken breeds and 6 other bird species, of which quail is the only animal species that has
been domesticated in Japan (Table 1-2) Lots of species and breeds of livestock and poultry have
been introduced into Japan, but breeds other than major breeds of cattle, pigs and chickens have
decreased in number and have not played an important role in animal production. There are some
breeds included in the statistics that cannot be said to have become well established in Japan, and
their introduction at this point would have to be regarded as tentative.
2. 1 Present status of Japanese native breeds
Cattle: Since the Meiji era, exotic cattle breeds have been introduced and crossbreeding between
Japanese cattle and exotic breeds have been promoted in most regions nationwide. As a result,
there are only two cattle populations that escaped hybridization with exotic breeds, Mishima Cattle,
which have survived in Mishima Island off the coast of Hagi city in Yamaguchi Prefecture and
Kuchinoshima Cattle living on Kuchinoshima of the Tokara Islands in Kagoshima Prefecture.
Cattle other than the above-mentioned populations were categorized into 4 breeds depending on
the types of exotic cattle introduced into the region; Japanese Black, Japanese Brown, Japanese
Shorthorn, and Japanese Polled were developed through crossbreeding.
Pigs: Before Japanese people began to eat pigs nationwide, a native pig called Shima-buta or Aguh
existed in Kagoshima and Okinawa. At present Black Pig (it is thought to be of Berkshire origin)
has gained popularity as a special brand product in Kagoshima Prefecture. In the case of Aguh,
almost all of native Aguh disappeared due to ground fighting in Okinawa at the end of the World
War II and the donation and introduction of exotic breeds having high productivity after the war.
Given these circumstances, the collection and conservation of a few barely surviving individuals

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having a shape similar to the native Aguh was carried out As a result, the population increased to
100, and the F1 is now being marketed as a brand pig. Ohmini is being preserved by private
businesses and the F1 of Ohmini is being marketed as a laboratory animal
Chickens: The cutting off of Japan from outside contact in the Edo era (from 17th to the mid-19th
century) had a significant impact on the establishment of the Japanese Chicken as birds either for
pets or cockfighting. The Japanese Chicken as a chicken for practical use came about under the
influence of exotic breeds introduced in the Meiji period. Since the liberalization of imports for
breeding chickens in 1960, native chickens for practical use have fallen into a disastrous condition.
Some native chickens are now being used to breed brand chickens. Brand chickens using
native chickens are referred to as Jidori Japanese old style native), a name that helps consumers
to differentiate this chicken from the others on offer. Chickens permitted to use the Jidori label are
limited to chickens containing at least 50% of the blood of 41 native breeds designated by the Japan
Chicken Association (38 native breeds according to JAS) The major native chicken breeds
including these Japanese old-style natives are Rhode Island Red (44.8%), Nagoya (3.8%), Shamo,
Hinaidori, Barred Plymouth Rock, and Satsumadori These 6 breeds account for 58% of all native
breeds.
Horses: After World War II, farm horses that had been actively raised till then and native horses
used for conveyance lost their roles, resulting in a corresponding decline in their numbers. In spite
of this, 8 native populations comprising Hokkaido Horse, Kiso Horse, Noma Horse, Tsushima Horse,
Misaki Horse, Tokara Horse, Miyako Horse, and Yonaguni Horse are left and all are protected by
conservation groups.
Goats: As native goats, there are Tokara Goat and Shiba Goat The Japanese Saanen breed has
been produced by successive crossbreeding with a native goat The Shiba Goat is bred as a
laboratory animal in universities and research institutes. Its present status is 'endangered-
maintained' With regard to Tokara Goat, 35 purebred individuals exist at Kagoshima University
and Hirakawa Zoo. Toshima village, the birthplace of Tokara Goat, has opened a goat farm.
However, even here, there are only a few purebred individuals. The present status of Tokara Goat
is 'critical-maintained'
Quail: Quail are the only indigenous poultry species that have been domesticated in Japan. There
are about 7.71 million quail being bred focusing on the use of eggs (2000)
2.2 The state of conservation offarm animal
. Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Genebank Project
The MAFF genebank project started in 1985 as a nationwide network. From 2001, the National
Institute of Agrobiological Sciences has been the main body conducting research and collection of
genetic resources both inside and outside Japan, along with implementing characterization and
conservation of resources.
The conservation of livestock and poultry is practiced at the National Institute of Agrobiological
Sciences, the center-bank, and independent administrative institutes such as the National
Agricultural Research Organization, the National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Sciences, the

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National Institute of Animal Health, and the National Livestock Breeding Center, as sub-banks. The
center bank is involved with cryo-preservation, mainly focusing on frozen semen. The sub-banks
are concentrating more on maintaining live animals, in combination with cryo-preservation.
Collection and conservation are being carried out focusing on breeds and strains that have been
established in Japan, and approximately 200 accessions have been conserved.
. Conservation of animals
Nineteen varieties of livestock and poultry native to Japan have been designated as natural
monuments. All of these are chickens except for Mishima Cattle and the Misaki Horse. Of these,
only Onagadori in Tosa has been conserved as a special natural monument Moreover, financial
assistance to support measures for strain conservation was provided targeting the Hokkaido horse
and 14 chickens that are kept for research in three universities. A liaison meeting for the project to
conserve 8 native horse groups including Misaki Horse hosted by the Japan Horse Council has
been held every year since 1977.
2.3 Techniques for reproduction used in domestic animal production
Artificial insemination (AI): According to 2000 statistics, the prevalence rate of AI is 99% and the
frozen semen is used in all the case of AI for 2.48millions cows in total the rate of artificial
insemination for dairy cows is 99.4%, with frozen semen being used exclusively. For beef cattle the
percentage for AI is 97.8%, and again only frozen semen is used in this procedure. Contrast this
with pig and horse, where the corresponding figures are less than 10%.
Embryo transfer (ET): the embryo transfer was carried out for 62 thousands cows which
corresponds to 2.5% of artificial insemination of cattle including Japanese Black in which ET was
conducted the figure corresponding to 6.3% of 740thouthands AI.
Clone livestock (May, 2002): Cattle, fertilized-ovum clone, in 40 organizations, 629 animals, somatic
cell clone, 293 in 38; Pig somatic cell clone, in one organization, five animals; goat, somatic clone, in
one organization, two animals are produced.
2.4 Characterization of basic, economic, quantitative and molecular genetic traits
For livestock and poultry within Japan, data has been accumulated on fundamental and
production-related traits from all the studies ever conducted, while NIAS genebank project is also
promoting characterization of animal genetic resources held at the genebank. Genetic relationships
among domestic animal breeds and populations have been studied by using molecular information,
polymorphism of protein, blood type, mitochondrial DNA, and genomic DNA markers. Individual
identification and parentage tests that have conventionally been conducted using blood groups and
protein polymorphisms is shifting after a trial period to tests using microsatellite DNA
polymorphisms. DNA diagnosis of inherited disease is started on 5 genes of cattle and one gene of
the pig. Moreover genome research, genetic map and QTL analysis on livestock and domestic-
fowls are also performed.

3. The state of utilization of farm animal genetic resources

Beef cattle: In 1999, the population, excluding cattle for fattening, totaled 669,000, 93% of which

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are Japanese Black. With regard to other breeds, Japanese Brown constitutes 4.8%, Japanese
Shorthorn 1.2%, and other species constitute less than 1% in total Cattle being fattened for beef
production totaled 1.84 million head. Holstein and its cross are also included in the statistics,
accounting for 57.7% of the total Japanese Black accounts for 39.8%.
Dairy cows: In 1999, Holstein totaled 1.73 million head, accounting for almost 100%, while the
second most commonbreed was Jersey with only 9,202 head, and species other than Holstein
totaled 10,287 head, accounting for less than 1%
Pigs: Although there is the high popularity breed, the Kagoshima Kurobuta in Japan. In addition
to this breed, three way cross hybrids among Large White, Landrace, and Duroc, and partially
among Large White, Landrace and Berkshire (in place of Duroc), or commercial pigs, which have
been produced utilizing imported parental hybrids stocks pigs imported from foreign pig breeding
companies
Chickens: For chicken production, meat production using broilers produced from imported
parental hybrid stocks imported accounts for 89.4%. Adding waste chickens (9.0%) to this figure
takes the percentage to 98.4%. For eggs, White Leghorn and other laying chicken breeds account
for 7.21 million fowls, while native chickens and other breeding chickens for meat and eggs account
for 340,000 fowls in total (probably used mainly for meat)

4. Recent trends in animal production of Japan

4. 1 Self-sufficiency rate of animal products
Beef cattle: The percentage of Japanese Black in beef cattle breeds is increased after the import
liberalization of beef started in 1991 As a result, the proportion of Japanese Black among beef
breeds, which accounted for approximately 85% from around 1970 to 1991, rose to 93% in 1999,
resulting in the sharp decrease in other breeds. In 2000, beef production amounted to 3.64 million
tons and of which derived from breeds reared specifically for beef accounted for 1.67 million tons,
with national self-sufficiency for beef being 33.5%.
Dairy cattle breeds: Domestic milk production amounted to 8.41 million tons in 2000, with the
imported volume in the form of dairy products amounting to 4.00 million tons on a fresh milk basis,
70% of which is cheese.
Pig: Consumption of pork produced in Japan is currently 8.78 million tons and consumption of the
imported pork amounts to 6.51 million tons, with a 57.4% rate of self-sufficiency.
Chicken: Domestic production and self-sufficiency rate of chicken and egg in 2000 were 1,195,000
ton (67.6%) and 2,540,000 ton (95.5%), respectively.
4.2 Analyzing future demands and trends
The consumption of livestock products in Japan is one-third lower than the USA, and half that
of the EU. However, the Japanese people eat a lot of fish and shellfish, so the intake of animal food
compares favorably with developed western countries.
In terms of the demand for livestock products, dairy products such as cheese are expected to
increase, but fresh milk, meat and eggs are unlikely to increase due to a leveling off or downward

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trend in the population. However, in terms of quality and in response consumer needs, there are
increasing efforts to expand production and consumption through product differentiation. The
trend among consumers is to purchase fresh, safe, palpable and healthy livestock products rather
than just focusing on the price. Accordingly, livestock producers are endeavoring to meet
consumers' needs by developing brand livestock and products.
Brand products are being produced from beef, pork, chicken and eggs, with 141, 178, 158, 636
brands known respectively. There are a few brands that use native breeds as a point of difference.
Native breeds such as Mishima Cattle, Kagoshima Berkshire, Aguh, Hinaidori, Tosa Jidori,
Nagoya, Gifu Jidori and Shamo are being utilized to produce brand products, a situation which is
greatly contributing to the conservation of these breeds at the present time.
4.3 Outline of future national policies on environmental and self-sufficiency issues
The stock feed self-sufficiency rate in 1998 was 22% in N terms and 25.1% on a TDN basis. If
limited to concentrated feed, feed produced within Japan provides only10% (2.00 million tons) of the
total demand of 20 million tons. Approximately half of the 33.71 million tons of grain consumed
(including human use) is for domestic livestock.
Such imported feed is excreted as feces and urine by livestock, most of which is then applied
to farmland. The quantity estimated to be applied to farmland is already exceeded the acceptance
capacity due to decline in areas under cultivation.
The Basic Law on Food, Agriculture, and Rural Areas was enacted in 1999. In accordance with
the Basic Law, the Basic Plan for Food, Agriculture, and Rural Areas in 2000 was established.
Japan's food self-sufficiency (1999) has declined to 41% in terms of supplied calories and 28% for
grains. The Plan sets up production goals that take into consideration the nutrient balance of food
to increase self-sufficiency to more than 50% in terms of supplied calories, in addition to ensuring a
basic food supply. Goals for 2010 are 9.93 million tons of raw milk, 630,000 tons of beef, 1.35 million
tons of pork, 1.25 million tons of chicken meat, 2.47 million tons of egg. For the 2010 forage crops,
the Basic Plan set the goal of 5.08 million tons (TDN) (4,461kg/ha for a single-year harvest), with
cultivated areas totaling 1 10 million ha.
In 1999, the "Law concerning appropriate management and the promotion of use of livestock
excretion" was enacted and the "livestock individual identification system" started full operation
from FY 2002.

5. National priorities for the conservation of Animal Genetic Resources

Since research into other livestock by veterinarians and zoologists is broadly based, it is
important to increase the number of personnel that have an interest in these areas and are involved
in genetic resource studies and projects, rather than mere capacity building.
The Ministry of the Environment released the New National Strategy of Japan on Biodiversity
in March 2000. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology released the
"National bio-resource projects" that aims at the improvement of bio-resource systems such as
those for laboratory animals and plants These projects assume the viewpoint of the comprehensive

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promotion of bio-resources. The NIAS genebank projects are required to review how effective
measures to conserve genetic resources have been, utilizing the characteristics of individual
projects and linking these projects and systems effectively to take the entire nation into
consideration.

6. Reinforcing conservation efforts

Many of Japanese native livestock are in a critical situation. As an auxiliary means for in situ
preservation by live animals population, ex situ preservation by live animal, frozen embryo and
frozen semen are being conducted. The conservation of frozen embryos and semen is not
necessarily satisfactory because the number of individual being able to collect is limited and
freezing technologies have not been well established in some species. The leading technologies of
the next generation applicable for ex situ and in vitro preservation should be somatic cell cloning in
the mammals and primordial germ cell (PGC) for producing chimeras in the reproductive cell line
in avian species.
The associations of native livestock and domestic fowls are playing an important role. Policies
need to be prepared to provide further incentives to the Conservation Group to continue its efforts.
In addition, it is necessary to provide detailed information on livestock location wherever possible,
particularly for chickens, by ongoing research on the locations where these breeds can be found
and their conservation status.

Kurosawa: The water buffalo is almost extinct in Okinawa. However, farmers still use buffaloes for
cultivation and also as a tourist attraction.
In Japan, crossbreeding between pigs and wild boar has recently been pursued quite actively.
In many cases, farmers have failed to commercialize them and hybrid individuals have been
released into mountain areas. Such hybrids are thought to have a genetic impact on wild boars and
many researchers and local people are worried about this phenomenon. I hope that government
organizations and researchers will work with on this issue.

Minezawa: The problem of hybridization between local and exotic species has occurred not only in
the case of the wild boar. Many problematic cases are known among primates, such as between the
Japanese monkey and rhesus or Formosan monkeys. However, the issue of hybridization is still
controversial in the Primate Society. In the case of pig-boar hybrids, we should deal with the
problem carefully. Thanks for your information on the present status of the Okinawan water
buffalo.

Wagner: Is it correct that there were no domestic animals in Japan in the years before Christ and
that they came from mainland Asia?
As for the issue in developed countries, what are the priorities for AnGR conservation or how
should we consider the priorities for AnGR conservation?

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: Kagoshima Berkshire has 70 years history from the first breeding pair has been introduced
: Draft Horse Race, limited in Hokkaido Region (http://www banei-keiba orjp/information/banei-race%20English.htm)
DD: Data Deficient
Note The species and breeds adopted in this table are Japanese native breeds and the breeds
Which was shown their statistics in the "Annual Animal Breeding Related References"
Minezawa: Wild boar and the mallard duck inhabited Japan from ancient times. However, other
domestic animals did not exist in Japan in the B.C. period. Improvement in productivity was the
major priority for Japanese animal production and this contributed in various ways to the lives of
Japanese people, such increased life expectancy and improvements in physique. However, these
contributions have reached their limit and we are now in the stage of managing new Japanese
priorities in animal production issues. Many issues have arisen and need to be solved, such as
environmental problems and niche markets.
However, it is not easy to find the solutions to these questions and they are problems to be
solved in the future together with all of you.

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2. Status of Genetic Diversity
in Each Asian livestock
fromGenetic Survey
in Asian Countries

Chairpersons NAMIKAWA, T (Cattle)

AMANO, T (Water Buffelo)
MAEDA, Y (Pig)
TSUJI, S (Goat)
YAMAMOTO.Y (Chicken)
Genetic Diversity of Native Cattle in Asia

Kazuaki TANAKA1 and Takao NAMIKAWA2

1 School of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Animal Science and Biotechnology Azabu University,
Sagamihara, Kanagawa 229-8501, Japan
2Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Chikusa, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan

Abstract

The presence of wild species of Bos is a unique characteristic of the genetic resources of cattle
in Asia. The wild species of Bos consist of banteng (B. banteng), gaur (B. gaurus), yak (B. mutus),
and kouprey (B. sauveli) The kouprey is now very rare and little is known of its present status. No
concrete genetic or reproductive data on the kouprey is available to compare with that of the
related species. There are some domesticated forms of wild species, for example, domestic gaur
(gayal or mithan) in hills of separate India, Bhutan, Myanmar and Bangladesh, domestic yak in
Nepal to highland China,, and domestic banteng (Bali cattle) in Indonesia. It is possible that
domestic cattle in tropical and subtropical Asia have acquired some genes from such wild species,
because they can interbreed with domestic cattle and, though mostly male offspring are sterility,
female hybrid offspring are fertile. However, because of the quite limited distribution of the
domestic forms of Bos spp., the native cattle in Southeast Asia was generally regarded as humped
cattle (Zebu, indicus) or crossbred between humpless (taurus) and humped cattle in various rates,
and gene flow from the wild species was thought to be not so common.In this paper, we elucidate
phylogenetic relationships of wild Bos spp. and some evidence of inflow of genes from the wild
species to domestic cattle in Southeast Asia.

Phylogenetic relationships of wild Bos spp.

The 1140 bp cytochrome b gene was sequenced for banteng, gaur, yak, Bali cattle, mithan, and
American bison. And then, phyogenetic tree of these Bos species was constructed using the
neighbor-joining method, in which Asian buffalo (Bubalus bubahs) and African buffalo (Synceros
caffer) sequences were placed as outgroup. In the dendrogram, (Fig. 1), the genus of Bos (including
the American bison) were divided into three clusters, one is cluster of indicus and taurus cattle,
another is of banteng, gaur, Bali cattle and mithan, and the other is of yak and American bison. This
classification agrees with the comparative morphological analysis by Groves (1981) According to
the fossil record the divergence time between Bos and Syncerus (or Bubalus) is approximately 10
million years (Savage and Russell, 1983) Using this divergence time, the coalescence time for the
present Bos species was estimated as approximately 5.5 million years. As the divergence time
within the domestic cattle is less than 1 million years, present wild Bos species can be used as

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 African buffalo
100
6.5 MYR

Asian buffalo

million years 100

(MYR) 0.8 MYR
taunus
Domestic cattle
5.5 MYR gnetaB
912 BaIi cattle
3.8 MYR
100 Gaur

7
5.4 MYR Mithan
25
964 American bison
2.5 MYR
Yak

Figure 1 A phylogenetic tree of cytochrome b gene sequences in the genus Bos by using
the neighbor-joining method. Numerals on internal branches are the
bootstrapprobabilities (%) from 1.000 trails

much diverged genetic resources for the cattle.

Paternal gene flow between the taurus and indicus cattle in Southeast Asia based on variation
in SRY gene
Domestic cattle in the world (excluding Bali cattle and mithan) were generally classified into
two types, that is, taurus (humpless or European-type), and indicus (humped or Zebu) thought
intermediate-type cattle were raised in Southeast Asia and in some African countries (Phillips,
1961) A number of studies have contributed to understand phylogenetic relationship of taurus and
zebu cattle. These studies have suggested that the taurus cattle and the indicus cattle were
differentiated at the subspecies level and the domestication of the two types of cattle occurred
independently (Loftus et al , 1994; Kikkawa et al , 1995) The intermediate-type cattle were considered
to have a hybrid origin between the taurus and the indicus cattle in various ratios. Indochina native
cattle called Yellow Cattle was considered as this intermediate-type. The Y chromosome of cattle
can be clearly divided into taurus and indicus by its shape because the Y chromosome of the taurus-
type is submetacentric while it of the indicus-type is acrocentric (Halanan and Watoson, 1982)
Thus, studies of polymorphisms of Y-linked genetic marker can be used as a powerful tool to
investigate the introgression or gene flow between the taurus and the indicus cattle in the
intermediate-type population through the male. The gene for SRY (sex-determining region Y) is
one of the well studied genes on the mammalian Y chromosome (Gubbay et al , 1990) A total of
200 blood or tissue samples of male cattle were collected in Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar. The

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 Figure 2. Comparison of restriction fragment patterns for PCR products for the bovine
SRY gene by MseI Lane 1, a size maker (ƒÓ 174 DNA-HaeIIIdigest), lane 2 to 4,
taurus-type; lane 5 to 8, indicus-type; lane 9 female.

DNA sequence for SRY gene of taurus has been reported by Kato et al (1995) Since sequence of
Indicus-type cattle was not available, we Isolated and sequenced whole length of protein coding
region of SKY gene (690-bp) from a male cattle which had acrocentrlc Y chromosome by karyotyping
(Tanaka et al , 2000) Comparing these DNA sequence, one base substitution was found between the
taurus-type and indicus-type (641st base G•¨T; 214th codon TGT•¨TTT, 214th amino acid Cys•¨Phe)
As the substitution position was contained In a cleavage site by Msel, PCR-RFLP method was
carried out to identify the taurus-type and the Indicus-type. PCR primers for amplification of SRY gene
were 5'-TTAGAACGCTTACACCGCATATTACT-3'and 5'-AGTAGTAAAATTGAGATAAAGAGCGCCT-3'
As shown In Fig. 2, electrophoratlon pattern of Msel digested PCR products of the SRY gene could
clearly be distinguish the two types on the gel SRY gene of the 200 male cattle were examined. Of
all of them, 193 cattle had indicus-type cleavage pattern and the rest 7 cattle had taurus-type. Thus,
most of the paternal backgrounds of these cattle were considered to be the Indicus cattle. Lan et al,
(1995) reported that the Yunnan native cattle In China had an acrocentric (indicus-type) Y
chromosome. This report supports our present results of SRY gene analysis, suggesting that the
gene flow from the taurus to Southeast Asian cattle is a small minority composing only a few % of
the whole.

Cytogenetics analysis of cattle In Southeast Asia

is Robertsonian translocatlon, also called centric fusion, the most common abnormalities in
bovine karyotype. The first detected and most widely reported example is the 1/29 translocation
described by Gustavsson and Rockborn (1964) After this report, many other Robertsonian
translocations have been reported: rob(7;21)? rob(15;25), rob(5;22), rob(4;10), rob(16;18), rob (16;20)
Iannuzzl (Hanada et al 1981, et al 1992; Rubes et al 1996) However most of the Robertsonian

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translocations were reported in the European breed of cattle while cytogenetic analyses in
Southeast Asian cattle were very limited. However, Fischer (1971) reported a centric fusion
between a large and a small acrocentric in one animal out of four indigenous Thai cattle. In our
study of karyotyping of cattle in Southeast Asia, we found an abnormal karyotype of a male calf that
consists of only 59 chromosomes (57 acrocentric and 2 large submetacentric) (Tanaka et al 2000)
R-banding revealed that the phenotypically normal male calf (2n=59) has an acrocentric Y chromosome
and is a heterozygous carrier of a centric fusion involving chromosomes 2 and 28 (Fig. 3) It is
quite interesting that the rob(2;28) chromosome is the same combination of a biarmed autosome
pair in the 2n=58 karyotype of gaur and mithan (Fig. 4) Although, the calf analyzed in this study
was not a direct hybrid between cattle and gaur, the rob(2;28) chromosome may have acquired
from the gaur or its domestic form mithan, because they can interbreed with domestic cattle
producing fertile female offspring, and had a wide distribution in South and Southeast Asia within
historical times.

Figure 3. RBG-banded karyotype of a male calf

earring ic fusion involving chromosomes
Figure
bull2inand
Myanmar
4. RBG-banded
28. karyotype of a mithan

Distribution of ƒÀ globin alleles in native cattle populations in Southeast Asia.

The hemoglobin-ƒÀ chain (Hbb) polymorphism is one of the most intensively investigated
genetic characters in cattle. Distribution of the Hbb variants is therefore a powerful too to estimate
genetic relationships among the various cattle populations all over the world (Namikawa, et al, 1984)
In Southeast Asia, most of the cattle populations were polymorphic with three electrophoretic
bands: Hbb-A, -B, and -X with the three alleles, A, B, X at Hbb locus When analyzed by using
isoelelectric focusing (IEF) method, pH range 5-8 with 8 M urea, the Hbb-X band can be divided
into two polymorphic bands, we temporarily call them X1 and X2 from the higher PI (Fig. 5) The
X1 band was confirmed to be identical with the Hbb of mithan, on the other hand, the X2 band
showed no difference in the pi from the previous X (XBali) band of Bali cattle. Figure 6 shows the
geographical distribution of Hbb alleles in Indochina area. Hbb-X1 appeared at highest frequency

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 Figure 5. Electrophoretic polymorphisms at Hbb locus in Southeast Asian cattle by
isoelectric focusing. The X2X2is the standard from Bali cattle.

Figure 6. Geographical distribution of Hbb alleles by isoelectric focusing of native

cattle in Indochina.
(1) Thailand (northern area), (2) Thailand (southern area), (3) Laos,
(4) Vietnam (northern area) , (5) Vietnam (southern area)

of 27.8% in the northern area of Vietnam where we can not see any domestic gaur in this district,
while Hbb-X2 is a minor allele in Indochina (Okada et al 2000) This result suggests that gaur has
played an important role of gene souse for cattle in Indochina.

References

Fischer H (1971) Beitrag zur Kenntnis des einheimischen thailandischen Rindes mit Hilfe der
Chromosomenanalyse. Z. Tierziichting Ziichtgsbiol 88: 215-221
Groves CP (1981) Systematic relationships in the bovini (Artiodactyla, Bovidae) Z. zool Syst
Evolut -forsch. 19: 264-278.
Gubbay J, Collignon J, Koopman P, Capel B, Economo UA, Munsterberg A, Vivian N and Good fellow
PA (1990) A gene mapping to the sex-determining region of the mouse Y chromosome is a
member of a novel family of embryonically expressed genes. Nature, 346: 245-250.
Gustavsson I and Rockborn G (1964) Chromosomal abnormality in 3 cases of lymphatic leukemia
in cattle. Nature 203: 990.
Halnan CRE and Watson JI (1982) Y chromosome variants in cattle Bos taurus and Bos indicus
Ann. Genet Sel Anim. 14: 1-16.
Hanada H, Muramatsu S, Abe T and Fukushima T (1981) Robertsonian chromosome polymorphism
found in a local herd of the Japanese Black Cattle. Ann. Genet Sel Anim. 13: 205-211
Iannuzzi L, Rangel-Figeiredo T, Di Meo GP and Ferrare L (1992) A new Robertsonian translocation
in cattle, rob(15;25) Cytogenet Cell Genet 59: 280-283.
Kato Y, Sato S, Cui X, Itagaki Y and Sutou S (1995) Cloning and characterization of bovine Sry
gene. Anim. sci Technol 66: 994-1001
Kikkawa Y, Amano T and Suzuki H (1995) Analysis of genetic diversity of domestic cattle in east
and southeast Asia in terms of variations in restriction sites and sequences of mitochondrial
DNA. Biochem. Genet , 33: 51-60.
Lan H, Xiong X, Lin S, Liu A, Shi L, Namikawa T, Amano T, Suzuki H and Hashiguchi T (1995)
Mitochondrial DNA polymorphism of yellow cattle (Bos taurus) and Mithun (Bos frontahs)
Rep. Soc. Res. Native Livestock, 15: 63-70.
Loftus TR, Machugh DE, Bradley GD, Sharp MP and Cunningham P (1994) Evidence for two
independent domestications of cattle. Proc. Natul Acad. of Sci USA, 93: 2757-2761
Namikawa T, Ito S, and Amano T (1984) Genetic relationships and phylogeny of East and
Southeast Asian cattle: genetic distance and principal component analyses. Z. Tierziicht
Zuchtgsbiol , 101 17-32.
Okada Y, Tanaka K, Yamagata T, Mannen H, Kurosawa Y, Yamamoto Y, Amano T, Namikawa T,
Bouahom B, Dara BS, Keonouchanh S, Phouthavongs K and Novaha S (2000) Comparison of
hemoglobin-s chain polymorphism of the native cattle from Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.
Report of the Society for Researches on Native Livestock, 18: 75-82.
Phillips RW (1961) World distribution of the major types of cattle. J. Hered. 52: 207-213
Rubes J, Musilova P, Borkovec L, Borkovcova Z, Svecova D and Urbanova J (1996) A new
Robertsonian translocation in cattle, rob(16;20) Hereditas 124: 275-279.
Savage DE, and Russell DE (1983) Mammalian Paleofaunas of the World. Addison-Wesley, Reading,
Massachusetts.
Tanaka K, Okada Y, Kuroiwa A, Yamagata T, Namikawa T, Amano T, Mannen H, Kurosawa Y,
Nozawa K, Nishibori M, Yamamoto Y, Nguyen HN, Phan XH, Thau TD, Dang VB, Chau BL,
Minh ND, Bouahom B, Vannasouk T, Dara BS, Keonouchanh S, Phouthavongs K, Novaha S
and Phannavong B (2000) An assay for paternal gene flow between the taurus-type and indicus-

-58-
 type cattle in Laos and Vietnam using variation in SRY Gene. Report of the Society for
Researches on Native Livestock, 18: 59-64.
Tanaka K, YamamotoY, AmanoT, Yamagata T, Dang VB, Matsuda Y and Namikawa T (2000) A
Robertsonian translocation, rob (2;28) , found in Vietnamese cattle. Hereditas, 133: 19-23.

Nozawa: In Bali, Java, and Sulawesi, there was found to be a high frequency of the X Bali variant of
the hemoglobin-beta-chain. Is there a possibility of the existence of an X1 variant in these isles?

Tanaka: All the Bali cattle examined had an X2 variant

Nozawa: What is the distribution of X1 in Mithan or GayaP

Tanaka: I analyzed seven individuals of Gayal All the individuals have an XI variant

Wagner: From your study, can you give any advice or deduce any conclusions for conservation
activities, in a sense, which breed or lines, or what do?

Tanaka: One of the most important populations comprise the cattle in northern Vietnam to Laos,
and some states of Myanmar. They are of a smaller size and have a different genetic constitution to
other regions and are thought to have substantial gene flow from wild gaur. I am not familiar with
Indonesian cattle, however, the Bali cattle population of Indonesia is also thought to be important

Thuy: As for the location of the sampling, from which parts of Vietnam did you collect samples?
From the south or the north? This is important since many differences are found between the
regions in Vietnam. In the southern provinces, there are Banteng cattle and minority groups
enclose cattle in this area and arrange mating with Banteng cattle.

Tanaka: I collected samples at Hamyen City, 200 km north of Hanoi and also around Ho-Chi-Minh
City.

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Genetic Diversity of Asian Water Buffalo

M.O. FARUQUE1, K. NOMURA2, Y.TAKAHASHI2 and T.AMANO2

1 Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Bangladesh Agricultural University,

Mymensingh-2202 , Bangladesh.
2 Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding, Faculty of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture,
Atsugi-Shi, Kanagawa 243-0034, Japan.

Abstract

Domestic water buffaloes are valuable animal genetic resource of Asia. Asian water buffaloes
can be classified into two types - swampbuffalo and river buffalo. The morphology of two types
differs in respect to coat colour, horn shape and size. There is variation in their utilization too. The
variation in morphology and utility is reflected in the genotypes of buffaloes. There are
chromosome polymorphisms, blood protein polymorphisms and DNA polymorphisms between two
buffalo types and also within different geographical populations. The studies made so far indicate
that two types of water buffaloes have been domesticated from different origins and differentiated
at full sub species level The haplotypes of swamp buffaloes and river buffaloes are distributed east
and west as Bangladesh forms a geographical boundary area between these two types.

Introduction

Buffaloes belong to family Bovidae The Asian buffaloes originated from Asian wild buffalo,
Bubalus bubahs that are still found in different parts of India, Sri Lanka and Bhutan.
Domestic water buffaloes have been classified into two types - swampbuffalo and river buffalo.
This classification has been made on the basis of their morphological, behaviour and geographical
distribution (Macgregor, 1941) Buffalo was domesticated in India about 5000 years ago and in
China about 4000 years ago (Zeuner, 1963; Cockrill, 1981) Chen and Li (1989) however suggest
domestication of buffalo in China at least 7000 years ago. Two types of buffaloes spread then in
different regions of the Asia as well as different continents and have eventually acquired their own
identity. This paper addresses about the genetic diversity of domestic buffalo of Asia. The genetic
diversity study is important for conservation program as well as for taking decision of breeding
program. The study of genetic diversity of Asian buffaloes will, therefore, help in their conservation
and to take proper buffalo breeding program in this region.

Distribution

Domestic water buffaloes are found in Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America. There were 162
million water buffaloes in the world in 1999 (FAO, 2000) Of the total number of buffalo,

61
approximately 96% are observed in Asia and Pacific region. Over the last decade (1988 - 98), the
number of water buffalo in the world increased slightly 1.30% per year. In 1998, there were 156.7
million buffaloes distributed in 16 countries of Asia (Table 1) From the table, it appears that
buffalo number is decreasing in countries of Southeast Asia but increasing in Pakistan, India, Nepal
and Bangladesh.
Domestic water buffaloes are valuable animal genetic resource of Asia. There is diverse use of
water buffaloes in Asia. River buffaloes are distributed in Bangladesh, Nepal, India, Sri Lanka,
Pakistan, Arabian Peninsula and Mediterranean region. Swamp buffaloes are found in Southeast
Asia extends northward as far as Yangtze Valley in China and westward as far as Assam
(Macgregor, 1941) River buffaloes have a number of recognized breeds and used mainly for milk
production. River buffaloes account for more than 70% of the total buffalo in the world whereas
swamp buffaloes represent 30%. Swamp buffaloes have no breed and used mainly for draught
purpose. Buffalo raising in Asia has been traditional among small farmers and reared under
subsisting system in crop and livestock mixed cultivation system. The production systems may be
extensive, semi intensive or intensive.

Source: FAO, 2000

F: FAO estimate

62-
 Morphological variation

The Asian buffaloes have a variety of Morphology There is distinct variation in coat colour,
horn shape, body size and conformation between river buffaloes and swamp buffaloes. River
buffaloes are usually black have curled/spiral or sickle shape horns, medium to large in size and
usually dairy type. Swamp buffaloes are dark gray have circular or semicircular horns, small to
medium in size and have barrel shape body. Some swamp buffaloes have white coat colour
(albinoid) The frequency of white buffalo varies from country to country (Mason, 1974) Nozawa
and Ratanadilok (1974) mentioned that frequency of white buffalo in Thailand ranged from 0 to
15%. Amano et al (1983) mentioned that frequency of white gene in Indonesian buffaloes ranged
from 19 to 49% (1983) Piebald (black and white) buffaloes are found in some islands of Indonesia
but their frequency is less than that of white buffalo (Amano et al 1983) White stocking and one or
two chevron are commonin swamp buffaloes. White stocking and chevron are not found in river
buffaloes except in 'Surti' breed. Walleye and white spotting in face, forehead, leg and tail switch is
commonin 'Nili Ravi' The coat colour, spotting pattern and white marking vary in crossbred
buffaloes depending upon the level of crossing.
The size of different types of buffaloes varies depending upon breed and locality. Table 2
represents the height, length and heart girth of swamp buffaloes in Far East Such type of body
measurement has been conducted by Society for Researches on Native Livestock, Japan in
different Asian countries (Amano et al 1983, Amano et al 1995a, Namikawa at al 2000) Their
findings are more or less similar to that report of Chantalakahana (2001) Bhat (1992) mentioned
the height of male and female Murrah buffaloes in India as 150 and 140 cm respectively.

Table 2. Mature weight and size of swampbuffaloes

Source: Chantalakhana, 2001

Genetic variation

The wide variation in the morphology of Asian water buffaloes is also reflected in their genetic
make up both in chromosomal make up and gene constitution. Extensive works on chromosome
polymorphisms and blood protein polymorphisms have been done in Japan, India, Malaysia and

63
Thailand. Studies on the buffalo DNA, especially on the mitochondrial and microsatellite DNA
polymorphisms, are in progress in Japan, India, Thailand, Malaysia and China. Little work has been
done on the blood group systems of buffaloes.
Chromosome polymorphisms: Prakandze (1939) was the first to work with buffalo cytogenetics
in Asia giving a brief account on the chromosome number Later Makino (1944) reported correctly
the chromosome number of swamp buffalo of Taiwan and he mentioned it as 48. Ulbrich and
Fischer (1967), and Fischer and Ulbrich (1968) were the first to report about the details of buffalo
karyotypes. Since then many researchers in Japan (Amano and Martojo 1983, Amano et al 1987),
India (Gupta and Ray Chaudhury 1978, Chakrabarti and Benjamin 1980, Yadav and Balakrishnan
1982), Sri Lanka (Scheurmann et al 1974), Malaysia (Harisah et al 1989), China (Youjun et al
2001) and Thailand (Chavananikul, 1989) have conducted work on cytogenetics of Asian buffaloes.
From their studies, it now clear and well established that river buffaloes and swamp buffaloes differ
in their karyotypes. The diploid chromosome number of river buffaloes is 50. Their karyotypes
consist of 5 pairs of submetacentric chromosomes, 19 pairs of acrocentric chromosomes and a pair
of acrocentric sex chromosomes. On the other hand, karyotypes of swamp buffaloes consists of a
single pair of large metacentric chromosomes, 4 pairs of submetacentric chromosomes and 18 pairs
of acrocentric chromosome and a pair of acrocentric sex chromosome. These two types also differ in
fundamental number. The fundamental number of river buffaloes and swamp buffaloes is 60 and 58
respectively. The cross between two types produces a number of chromosome polymorphisms in Fi
and F2 The details of chromosome polymorphisms have been presented in Table 3.
Blood protein polymorphisms: Giri and Pallai (1956), Vella (1958) and Lyopetjra (1962) for the

Table 3. Chromosome number of the offspring produced from different types of mating
between swampand river buffaloes
Type of mating Chromosome number
1 Purebred cross mating
Swampx River Parent (2n) 48x50
Meiosis Gamete (n) (24) + (25)
Fi crossbred Offspring (2n) 49
2. Backcross to swamp
F1 x Swamp Parent (2n) 49x48
Meiosis Gamete (n) (24), (25) + (24)
BIS Offspring (2n) 48 or 49
3. Backcross to river
F1 x river Parent (2n) 49x48
Meiosis Gamete (n) (24), (25) + (25)
BIR Offspring (2n) 49 or 50
4. Inter se mating
FixFi
Parent (2n) 49x49
Gamete (n) (24), (25) + (24), (25)
Meiosis
F2
Offspring (2n) 48, 49 or 50

Source Chavananikul, 1989

-64-
first time reported the hemoglobin and transferrin polymorphisms in Indian and Thai Buffalo.
Later Khana and Breand (1968) reported about the albumin polymorphisms. Since then many
investigators in different parts of Asia, especially the Japanese, Indian and Malaysian scientists,
have conducted extensive works on the blood protein polymorphisms of Asian buffaloes using
manyprotein loci (Amano 74, 78; Amano et al 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1995a, 1998;
Sen et al 1966, Khana 1969, Tan et al 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993; Barker et al 1997a; Takahashi et al
2000) All the investigators reported about polymorphisms for a number of blood protein and
enzyme loci in buffaloes for different populations and types. There are, however, variations in
methodology applied and nomenclature used by them. Amano and his associates examined 25
blood protein and enzyme loci of 40 buffalo populations of Asia and mentioned about polymorphisms
of serum albumin, transferrin, alkaline phosphatase, cell hemoglobin, carbonic anhydrase, peptidase
B and NADH diaphorase (Table 4) The Indian scientists reported about the polymorphisms of
albumin, transferrin, hemoglobin, amylase, carbonic anhydrase and ceruloplasmin in Indian buffalo
population. Barkar and associates, however, mentioned more polymorphic loci for blood protein
and enzymes of buffaloes of Asia. Out of 53 blood protein and enzyme examined, they obtained 25
polymorphic loci for blood protein and enzyme in 17 buffalo populations of Asia. From their
studies, it appears that river buffaloes and swamp buffaloes differ genetically for these loci For
example, AlbX and TfA have been detected only in the swamp buffalo. On the other hand, AlbB and
TfE have been reported only in the river buffaloes (Amano et al 1987, 1995a)

-65-
 Amano et al (1998) estimated the genetic variability of 40 buffalo populations in Asia. This has
been presented in Table 5. The highest heterozygosity (H) value was obtained in population of
+- Bangladesh-East (0.0821 0.0378) and the lowest value in Philippines -2 (0.0218 i 0.0158) Nei's
genetic distance and principal components analysis done by them have been shown in Figure 1 and

Table 5. Genetic variability (P Poiyand H) of 40 water buffaloes populations

Source: Amano et al 1998

-67-
 Figure 2. Their study reveals larger genetic distance between river buffaloes and swamp buffaloes.
They concluded that swamp buffaloes could be classified into two groups - one the swamp
buffaloes of Indonesia and other the swamp buffalo of main land of Southeast Asia (China, Laos,
Vietnam, Thailand, and The Philippines) They further suggested that swamp buffaloes and river

OKI
TLO
TWN
PH4
PH1
CHD
PH2
PH3
Swampbuffalo
WJ4 WJ1
WS
SST
SU1
SU2
WJ2
WJ3
CJ
BL2
BL1
PHC2
Crossbred
NS INC PHC1
BDE
BDC1
River buffalo
NPK
PHR
LAN
WLO
MUR
ITA

OKI Japan-Okinawa CHB China Banna WS WestSumatra PHC1 PhilippineCrossbred 1 NPP Nepal Pokhara
TLD Thailand VTC Vietnam Central SST South Sulawesi Traja PHC2 Philippine Crossbred 2 NPT Nepal Terai
VTS TWN TaiwanKaoshun Vietnam South SU1 SouthSulawesiUjungpandang 1 INC Indonesia-Crossbred NPK Nepal KaliGandaki
PH1 Philippine 1 VTN Vietnam North SU2 South Sulawesi Ujungpandang 2 BOE Bangladesh East PHR Philippine River
PH2 Philippine-2 WJ1 WestJava 1 CJ CentralJava BDC1 Bangladesh Central 1 LAN Sn Lanka-Native
PH3 Philippine s WJ2 WestJava 2 BL1 Bali 1 BDC2 Bangladesh Central 2 WLD Sn Lanka Wild
PH4 Philippine4 WJ3 WestJava 3 BL2 Bali 2 BDW Bangladesh West MUR SnLankaMurrah
CHD ChinaDali WJ4 WestJava4 NS NorthSumatra VTRJ Vietnam River ITA Italy Naples

Fig. 1 Dendrogram drawn from Nei's genetic distance estimated by gene frequency of
blood protein types of 40 water buffalo populations (Amano et al 1998)

lartneC-miV Vietnam South Vietnam North

reviR-mantV 5 Phifippme-4 3-eniphP
2-emphiP 8 Phiiippme-Crossbred-2 9 WestJava 1
10 West Sumatra South Sulawesi-Traja 12 South Sulawesi-Ujungpandang 1
13 North Sumatra 14 Indonesia Crossbred 15 Bangladesh-East
16 Sri Lanka-Native 17 Sri Lanka-Murrah 18 Sn Lanka-Wild
19 PhiJippine-1 20 Nepal-Kaii Gandaki 21 Nepal-Terai
22 Philippine-River 23 Philipptne-Crossbred-1 24 South Sulawesi-Ujungpandang-2
25 Balii 26 WestJava2 27 Bangladesh-Central-1
28 Bangladesh-West 29 Nepal Pokhara 30 West Java-3
31 WestJava-4 32 China Dali 33 China-Banna
34 Tawan-Kaoshun 3
35 Italy-Naples 36 Japan-Okinawa
37
4
Thailand 8 Central Java 39 Bati2
0 Bangladesh Centra! 2 24

Fig. 2 Three-dimensional projection of 40 buffalo populations by principal components

analysis (Amano et al 1998)
 buffaloes have domesticated from different origins. Their findings are in agreement to those of
Barker et al (1997a), Lau et al (1998) and Takahashi et al (2000) and indicated in Figure 3, Figure
4 and Figure 5.
DNA polymorphisms: Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is maternally inherited. Changes in the
nucleotide sequence of mtDNA occur faster than nuclear DNA. So analysis of mtDNA provides
useful information regarding relationships between and within populations/breeds/species.

Chiang Mai
Trengganu
Hat Yai
Bogor
Surin
Philippines
Medan
Sulawesi
KamPaeng Seng
Sabah
Sarawak
Australia
Sri Lanka Kandv
Sri Lanka South
Sri Lanka North
Murrah Sri Lanka
Murrah Malaysia

Fig. 3 Dendrogram of relationships among 17 water buffalo populations (Barker et al 1997a)

LAO
VTN
VTS
VTC
TLD
CHB
CHD
PHL
PHM
WJ1
WJ4

SU2
BL1
CJ1
BL2
C12
rwN
OKI
Cross-bred NS
INC
VR1
BDC2
BDW
NPP
NPT
BDC1
River NPK

WLD
BDE
MUR
PHC
ITA

LAO LaosVientiane WJ1 WestJava 4 CJ2 CentralJax-a 2 NPK NapalKaliGandati

VTN Vietnam North WS West Sumatra TWN Taiwan Kaoshun LAN Sri Lanka Natne
VTS Viemam South SST South Sulawesi Toraja OK1 Japan Okinawa WLD Sri Lanka Wild
VIC Vietnam Central SU1 SouthSulawesiUjungpandUng 1 VR1 Vietnam River BDis Bangladesh East
TLD Thaland WJ 2 WestJava 2 BDC2 Bangladesh Centeral 2 MUE Srt Lanka Murrah
CHB ChinaBanna WJ3 WestJava3 BDW Bangladesh West PHC Philippines Crossbred
CHD China Dan SU 2 South Sulawesi Ujungpandang 2 NPP Napal Pokharal ITA Italy Naples
PHL Philippines Luson BL1 Bah 1 NPT Napal Terai NS North Sumatra
INC PHM Philippines Midanao CJ 1 CentralJava 1 BDC1 Bangladesh Centeral 1 Indonesia Crossbred
WJ1 WestJava 1 BL2 Bah 2 PHR Philippines River

Fig. 4 Dendropgram drown from the Nei's genetic distance estimated by gene frequencies o:
blood proteins of 39 water buffalo populations (Takahashi et al 2000)
 1 Laos Vientiane 2avJtseW 21 Balil 31 Bangladesh East
2 Vietnam North 12 WestJava 3 22 Bali2 32 Napai Kah Gandato
lartneC-miV 13 WestJava 4 23 Indonesia Crossbred 33 NapalTerai
4 Vietnam-South 14 CentralJava 1 24 Thaland 34 Napal Pokhara
35
2 5 Vietnam River 15 CentralJava 25 SriLanka Native China Dan
6 Philippines Lason artmuSseW 26 Sn Lanka-Murrah 36 Chma-Banaa
7 Philippmes-Midanao 17 North Sumatra 27 Sri Lanka Wild 37 TaiwajrKaosiwm
8 Philippines Crossbred 18 South Sulawesi Toraja 28 Bangladesh-Centeral 1 38 italf NapIe
Okinawa 9 Philippines Eiver 19 Soqtb Sulawesi UjaRgpanttaag 1 29 Bangkdesh-CeBterai-2 39 Japan
10 WestJava 1 20 South Sulawesi U jmigpaadaae-2 36 Bangladesh-West

Fig. 5 Three dimensional projection of 39 buffalo populations by principal components

(Takahashi et al 2000)

Amanoet al (1995b) reported the genetic variants of ribosomal DNA and mtDNA between river
buffaloes and swamp buffaloes and concluded that only mtDNA provides adequate means for
classification of water buffaloes. Simple sequence repeat (microsatellite) loci have been found to be
commonin all eukaryotic genomes with frequencies as high as one every 6 kb (Beckmann and
Weber, 1992) Since microsatellites are highly polymorphic, they are also useful genetic markers
for comparative studies of genetic variation (MacHugh et al 1994) Restriction endonuclease cleavage
analysis, nucleotide sequence data of polymorphic sites of mtDNA, and microsatellite loci analysis
of DNA are the tools to study such relationships and genetic variability among the organisms. As
compared to cattle, little work has been done on buffalo DNA -for both nuclear DNA and mtDNA.
However DNA polymorphic work on buffaloes are in progress in different institutes of Asia.
Bath et al (1990) described the cleavage pattern of mtDNA of Indian Murrah buffaloes. Out of
13 restriction endonuclease enzymes tested, only one enzyme viz., Bg/I had polymorphic sites. Hu
et al (1997) described the restriction endonuclease patterns of mtDNA of three local type buffaloes
of Yunnan province of China. They tested 18 enzymes and identified polymorphisms for BamHI,
EcoRI and Seal sites. From their result, they concluded that Chinese water buffaloes belong to
swamptype with genetic variance among different local buffalo populations. The findings of Bath et al
(1990) and Hu et al (1997) agree to the findings of Pancin and Kamonpatana (1998) and Tanaka et al
(1995) Pancin and Kamonpatana (1998) used 5 endonuclease enzymes and found polymorphisms
for only BamHI and EcoRI in Thai swamp buffalo population. Tanaka et al (1995) used 15 enzymes
for swamp buffaloes and river buffaloes. They identified 5 restriction cleavage sites - 2 for river
buffaloes and 3 for swamp buffaloes (Fig 6) The additional site they mentioned is Pstl. The
restriction endonuclease cleavage analysis of mtDNA makes it clear that genetic variability exists in
different buffalo populations of Asia.
Tanaka et al (1995) also calculated the nucleotide diversities (ND) among those buffalo
populations of Asia. The ND ranged from 0.2 to 0.6% within swamp and river type, and 1.9 to 2.4%
between swamp and river type (Fig. 7) In another study on the sequencing of mtDNA cytochrome
b gene (mtcytb), Tanaka et al (1996) confirmed such genetic diversities between river buffaloes
and swamp buffaloes suggesting a divergent time of 1.7 million year between these two types and
concluded that these two types have differentiated from each other at sub species level This
finding accords with Kikkawa et al (1997) Kikkawa et al (1997) observed pair wise nucleotide
sequence divergence of two types of buffaloes is to be 2.67% suggesting a divergent time of
approximately 1.0 million year Kikkawa et al (1997) obtained 15 haplotypes of mtcytb- 7 for swamp
buffaloes of Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Bangladesh, and - 8 for buffaloes of
Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Italy. The haplotypes of swamp buffaloes and river buffaloes
were distributed east and west as Bangladesh forms a geographical boundary area between these
two types. They further observed base substitutions at 5 specific positions (nts 495, 498, 703, 753
and 1053) for river buffaloes and 10 specific position (nts 9, 66, 213, 354, 358, 492, 736, 807, 954 and
1080) for swamp buffaloes in 1140 bp sequence of mtcytb. In another study conducted by Lau et al

Nucleotide
Fig. 6 Restriction
Diversity
endonuclease site maps of 5 mtDNA of the buffaloes (Tanaka et al 1995)

Fig. 7 Dendrogram of mtDNA types of buffaloes (Tanaka et al 1995)

 (1998) determined mtcytb haplotypes by sequencing 303 bp. They found 5 haplotypes- One for
river buffaloes and 4 for swamp buffaloes. One haplotype (swamp 1) was common in all swamp
buffalo population of Asia but the rest three were present only in main land swamp buffalo. They
also studied the mtDNA D-loop of Asian water buffaloes. Haplotypes and nucleotide diversities of
mtDNA D-loop of different buffalo population of Asia has been presented in Table 6 and Figure 8.

ƒÎ Table 6. Haplotype diversity (h) and nucleotide diversity ( ) estimated from mtDNA
D-loop sequence for each population of swamp and river buffalo

Source: Lau et al 1998

Bocjor 1
Phil7
Phif 1
Phil 2
Sara 1
Sula 2
Thai 5
Thai 2
Thai 3
Aust 3
Sula 3
Phil 6
Sabah 1
Phil 5
3 Sara
Sara2
Aust 2**
SriL M2*
Mat M3*
Mai M1*
Srii- M3*
SriL 1*
Thai t
SrIL M1*
Thai 4
Thai 6
Phil 3
Aust 4
SriL 2*
Aust 1**
Phil 4
Sula 1
MaL M2*
Bovine

Fig. 8 Neighbour -joining tree for 33 mtDNA D-loop haplotypes of water buffalo
with the bovine sequence as an outgroup (Lau et al 1998)
 Table 7. Number of microsatellite alleles at each locus in swamp and river buffalo, number
shared between the two types and average gene diversity within populations

The phylogenetic relationships of 33 haplotypes showed 2 major clusters, ll found in swamp

buffaloes only and remaining 22 that includes haplotypes found in swamp only, river only and in
both river and swamp only. Statistical analysis showed significant differences between the swamp
and river types, and among populations within swamp types. The genetic relationships among the
ll populations, based on nucleotide divergence for the D-loop haplotypes, do not accord with their
relationships derived from microsatellite (Barker et al. 1977b), but accord with Bath (1992) who
mentioned no nucleotide variation for microsatellite in Murrah buffaloes of India. Barker et al.
(1997b) analyzed 21 microsatellite loci in ll populations of Asian water buffaloes (8 swamp and 3
river type). The number of microsatellite alleles at each locus in swamp and river buffalo, number
shared between two types and average gene diversity within population has been presented in
Table 7. From their study, they concluded that there was significant differentiation between swamp
buffaloes and river buffaloes and also among populations of each type. The topology of swamp
buffalo populations' microsatellite tree was in consistent with their geographical distribution. They
however estimated much lower time for divergence for two buffalo types (10,000 - 15,000 yr). John
and Ali (1997) used synthetic base DNA marker and found variation among different breeds of
river buffalo of India. The Toda breed belonged to a group rather than Murrah, Mehsana and Surti
(Figure 9).

Fig. 9 The phylogenetic tree using UPGMA average of four different breeds of buffaloes
based on their DNA profile with 0AT15- Mho probe- enzyme (autoradiograpg not
shown). Sample 1,2,3 Toda breed, Cluster A; Sample 4,5,6, Murrah breed, Cluster
B(bi); sample 7,8,9 Surti breed and Sample 10,ll,12 , Meshana breed, cluster B (b2)
(John and Ali, 1997)

References

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Amano, T., Katsumata, M. and Suzuki, S. 1981. Morphological and genetical survey of water
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Chang: There is a considerable genetic distance between the river and swamp buffalo. Is there any
possibility of differentiation at the subspecies level? Which group is the origin of the domestic
buffalo?

Faruque: Differentiation occurred long before from the advent of domestication. The two types of
water buffalo could be considered to have differentiated at the subspecies level. Dr. Tan found
almost the same genetic distance between two Malaysian water buffalo groups and calculated that
it had been 1 million years since the two populations had separated.

Taneja: Did you come across any fertility problems between the two groups?

Faruque: No.

Amano: The Philippines, China and Vietnam imported improved river buffalo from Pakistan and
produced Fi hybrids for the development of their dairy production. They used only the Fi females,
and the Fi males were castrated at an early age. There was no problem with the reproductivity of
the Fi females. However, we cannot yet ascertain the fertility of the Fi males and must check.

Faruque: The studies on Fi male fertility are ongoing in China. They are checking the
characteristics, for example semen, chromosomes, etc., and are preparing a final report. We need
to wait for this report to come to any conclusions.

Amano: East Bangladesh is a mixed area where the genes from both types of water buffalo have
been found. How is the situation in neighboring countries? Dr. Nyunt, do you have any information?

Nyunt: We used mostly swamp buffalo at agricultural sites and there are very few river buffalo,
perhaps 10% of the total, used for dairy production in Myanmar.
Taneja: We use mainly the river buffalo bred in India, except in Assam bordering Bangladesh.
Swampbuffalo are mainly used as draft Animals. In Assam, crossing between river and swamp
buffalo is taking place under a controlled program. The problem is with the fertility in the
crossbred male due to the differential chromosome number. Part of the data, from China and
Vietnam, indicate that the hybrid classes crossed to the river type are surviving. As for the male
line, they are contributing to hybrid fertility. Some populations in the south resemble more the
swamptype. However, their chromosome profile is of the river type.
fDistribution and Genetic Diversity of Domesticated Native Pigs in Asia,
Focusing on the Short-eared Pig

Yaetsu KUROSAWA1and Kazue TANAKA2

1 Cattle Museum, Maesawa-Cho, Iwate 029-4205, Japan

2 Tokyo University of Agriculture, Atsugi-Shi, Kanagawa 243-0034, Japan

Intro du cti on

There are many types of domesticated native pigs in Asia. They are descendants of the local
wild pig species (Sus scrofa L), which was domesticated independently in various parts of Asia.
Many of the resulting breeds occur in China, where pig breeding has a long history. In recent
years, due to the shortage of pig breeding resources, many countries have been looking at Chinese
pigs on the basis of their high rate of reproduction (Cheng, 1985).
On the other hand, the realities of native pig production in large areas of South and Southeast
Asia are not well known, though there are general introductory reports on native pig research
(Fischer and Devendra, 1964; Porter, 1993; Tanaka, 1990). Most of the pigs in these areas are
characterized by a straight snout and small ears, and are morphologically different from the typical
Chinese pig with a concave face, and large, pendulant ears. This local pig is referred to as the
"Short-eared pig" or "Small-eared pig" (Fig. 1).
There has been much debate concerning the precise origin of pig domestication in Asia. It is
said that Short-eared pigs were domesticated mainly from several subspecies of wild pig, e.g. the
Southeast Asian and Indian wild pigs (Sus scrofa vittatus and Sus scrofa cristatus) , etc. These native
pigs have broad genetic diversity and are important as genetic resources. However, the amount of
scientific data on the Short-eared pig is still limited at the present.

Geographical Distribution

In most of the South and Southeast Asian countries, the Short-eared pig is kept mainly by
minority ethnic groups in remote regions, such as in mountainous areas or island communities.
The geographic distribution of this pig extends from areas of South China to the Tibetan plateau
(Phillip and Hsu, 1944; Cheng, 1985). Moreover, historical research confirms that the Short-eared
pig was kept in Japan by the mid-nineteenth century (Kurosawa, 1996).
Short-eared pigs in remote regions are usually kept in a loose housing arrangement, although
traditional methods differ in some regions. Especially interesting is the breeding of pigs by
nomadic, non-Islamic people who live in Muslim countries such as Bangladesh (Kurosawa, 1996).
The number of Short-eared pigs remaining in each country is insignificant. In recent years,
their number has been declining due to hybridization with imported foreign breeds. In some
areas, particularly Southeast Asia, the Chinese pig and Short-eared pig are sometimes found in the
same community. In areas where both the Chinese pig and Short-eared pig are kept many
variations in pig breeds can be observed as a result of interbreeding. Examples include pigs with
varying sizes of ears and coat coloring, pigs with concave faces, and pigs with sagging backs whose
bellies drag along the ground during pregnancy.

Morphological characteristics

The morphological characteristics of the typical Short-eared pig are a narrow head and long,
pointed snout, small, erect ears and five pairs of nipples (Fig. 1). This pig is relatively small, with
some isolated mountain or island populations averaging a mere 40 kg. According to field surveys it
is sometimes difficult to distinguish between wild and domestic pigs at first glance. This is the case
in areas with a limited pig population such as Bangladesh, Nepal, Malaysia and Indonesia, etc.
(Kurosawa et al., 1992; Tanaka, 1990; Tanaka et al., 1983). Pigs with coat coloring that is similar to
wild pig are frequently found in these areas. Like the wild pig reported by Nachtsheim (1925) and
Kurosawa (1983) , many display five nipple pairs.
One interesting discovery from our survey was the variation in nipple patterns among the
native pigs of Asia. The nipple pattern of the typical Short-eared pig ranged from four to six pairs.
Other native pigs like the Chinese type and Western breeds varied from six to eight pairs. More
specifically, a pattern of five pairs was most frequent in the former, while seven or eight pairs were
commonin the latter. The nipples of the Short-eared pig were attached to the abdominal and
inguinal areas, spaced evenly and symmetrically; furthermore, a supernumerary teat is not found
in this pig. These features were observed not only in the populations of the typical Short-eared
type, but also in those of the Asian wild pig (Kurosawa et al., 1992). This suggests that there is a
close morphological connection between the Short-eared pig and the wild pig with regards to the
nipple pattern, and that the degree of pig domestication is low in comparison with Chinese pigs and
Western breeds.

Genetic continuity between domesticated and wild pigs

In many areas, wild pigs, particularly feral pigs, interbreed regularly with domestic pigs.
Indeed, it is known that there is a case of this in New Guinea (Oliver et al., 1993). Naturally, the
pigs in these areas are the typical Short-eared type, and their external characteristics are similar to
that of the wild pig. It is thus conceivable that a gene flow from wild pigs is occurring into the
domesticated pig population. In addition, hybridization of the domesticated pig and wild species
other than the Wild pig (Sus scrofa), such as the Warty pig (Sus verrucosus) or the Bearded pig (Sus
barbatus), occurs in the islands of Southeast Asia (Kurosawa et al.y 1989, Oliver et al., 1998). We
carried out genetic research on a pig population that had interbred with the Philippine Warty pig
(Sus verrucosus philippensis) kept by the Mangyans in the hills of Mindoro island (Fig. 2).
The emergence of the Short-eared pig in Southeast Asia may well be a result of such cross
breeding between Sus scrofa and other wild species like those mentioned above.
1) Nomadic pigs in Bangladesh 2) Nepalese native pigs

3) Lao native pig 4) Small-Thai native pig

5) Karo native pig, Sumatra island, Indonesia 6) Toraja native pig, Sulawesi island, Indonesia

7) Ankang pig, China 8) Bamei pig, China

Fig. 1. Photos showing comparison of various types of a female Short-eared pig and two types of a female
Chinese pig
 Fig. 2. A domestic native sow crossed with the Warty boar (Sus verrucosus philippensis)
and their hybrid piglets in Mangyan, Mindoro island, the Philippines. The sow
shows the black coat color, and the piglets show the dark brown color with
longitudinal yellowish stripes which is the typical coat color of the young wild
pig (Kurosawa et al.y 1989).

Genetic Diversity

Blood type and protein polymorphism research has shown that the gene frequencies of
studied genetic loci differed between Asian native pigs and Western breeds (Tanaka, 1990).
Similar results have been reported on several subspecies of Sus scrofa, including Asian and
European wild pigs on the Eurasian continent and adjacent islands (Kurosawa, 1995). In recent
years, detailed molecular genetics studies have confirmed that several wild pigs from Asia are
genetically similar to the domesticated pigs from that area, whereas the typical wild species of
Europe are close to the Western breeds (Okumura et al., 2001; Ozawa et al., 2000).
Asian native pigs show remarkable biochemical polymorphism in comparison to Western
breeds. This is evidenced particularly by electrophoretically analyzed differences in gene
frequencies at each locus for serum transferrin (Tf) and amylase (Am-1). There are likewise
significant differences between the populations of Short-eared pigs in South and Southeast Asia in
the gene frequencies of both these loci. For example, comparisons of the gene frequencies of South
Asian and Southeast Asian island pig populations show that TfB and Am-lc tend to be more
commonin the former, while the genes Tfc and Am-1Ashow greater frequency in the latter.
Furthermore, Southeast Asian island Short-eared pigs differed from northern Chinese native pigs.
These results support the hypothesis that Asian native pigs were independently domesticated
in various locations, and that they are polyphyletically derived from several subspecies of Wild pig
or other wild species.
 In the process of domestication, Asian native pigs, which have geographically diverse origins
and continued genetic connection with several species of wild ancestor, should be considered to
possess broad genetic diversity. However, the number of purebred Short-eared pigs traditionally
kept mainly by minority ethnic groups in remote mountainous or insular regions is drastically
decreasing as modernization leads to crossbreeding with Chinese and Western pigs. In the future,
Short-eared pig preservation will need to focus not simply on genetic resources, but also on taking
into account the traditional culture and social structures of the ethnic groups that are keeping
these pigs.

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Nozawa: Compared to other livestock species, the pig is a typical species that is considered to be
a polyphiletic domestic animal. We need to be cautious, especially in the case of the pig. The pig is
monophiletic at the species level. However, at the breed or subspecies level, the pig is polyphiletic.
How many clusters do you think are polyphyletic throughout the world as deduced from your
dendrogram? We should assume that a few clusters or more than hundreds of clusters are
polyphiletic.

Kurosawa: There are two major classes, the Western type and the Asian type. In Asia, however, we
have two different types, those from the islands of South East Asia and those from mainland
Indochina, or Chinese pigs. As reported today, Chinese native pigs significantly influenced the
South East Asian coastal and plain region populations. Pure small-ear type breeds are still being
maintained in many countries, however, they are localized in small mountainous areas. These days
it is not therefore possible to separate the Asian pigs clearly, such as into an island type or a South
East Asian type. It is very important to know whether the samples or pigs were collected from
pure native populations or not. Otherwise, we cannot come to a precise conclusion.
Mitochondrial DNA Diversity in Asian Goats

Hideyuki MANNEN

Laboratory of Anima Breeding and Genetics,

Faculty of Agriculture, Kobe University,
Kobe 657-8501, Japan

Introduction

Conservation of animal genetic diversity is essential to protect our genetic resources for the
future. Recently it has been found that almost 600 breeds of domestic animals are at risk of extinction
and there is the possibility of further erosion of many traditional and locally adapted breeds.
The goat is probably the earliest ruminant to be domesticated (Zeuner, 1963; Mason, 1984).
Evidence shows that the nomadic people of the Middle East tended goats as early as 10,000 years
B.C. The goat has been very prominent in world agriculture. Goats are found throughout all
regions of the world except for the arctic regions. In fact, approximately 75% of the world's
populations drink goafs milk. The goat is widely used as a source of meat especially in Middle-
Eastern Countries. Goat milk is also made into cheeses, butter and yogurt. Goats can provide many
other products such as Mohair and Cashmere, which is made into cloth and carpet as well as hides
for fine leather. History reveals that goats were often carried on ships as a source of fresh milk by
early explorers to the New World, including Captain Cook and Christopher Columbus.

Genetic background of domestic goats

The wild goats of the world are divided into three major groups: bezoar (Capra aegagrus),
markhor (C. falconeri) and ibex (C. ibex). These are closely related to the modern domestic goat
(C. hircus). Harris (1961) and Zeuner (1963) have proposed that bezoar is the most likely ancestor
of domestic goats. In addition, Harris (1962) has suggested that markhor and ibex might have
genetically affected the domestic goats domesticated in Western and Eastern Asia, respectively.
However, the hypotheses have not been proven until now.

Analyses of mitochondrial DNA in goats

Characteristics of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) studies in livestock species provide valuable

information about genetic diversity, phylogenetic relationships and the process of domestication
(Loftus et al, 1994; Mannen et al.9 1998). Analyses of mtDNA have the advantages that are the
clonal transmission, geographic temporal inertia of a particular mt-lineage, the pre- and post-
domestication patterns from the rates of substitution accumulation, concluding that domestic mt-
lineage is the result of physical capture of a wild female animal (MacHugh & Bradley, 2001).
 Recently, we described two ancestral mtDNA haplotypes (mt-lineage A and B) in Laotian goat,
suggesting it is unlikely that single local domestication could explain (Mannen et al., 2001). In
same year, Luikart et al. (2001) presented more comprehensive data set with more than 400
samples throughout the world by mtDNA analyses. This result also reveals the multiple maternal
origins and weak phylogeographic structure in domestic goats. They found three highly divergent
mtDNA lineages (mt-lineage A - Q in domestic goats. However, most of their samples were from
Europe Africa and Middle East, but less from Eastern Asia.
Therefore, in order to understand the genetic diversity of domestic goats in Asia, we have
investigated mtDNA diversity in Asian goats samples. In this workshop, I would like to show our recent
results of mtDNA diversity in Asian domestic goats. Until now, we analyzed goat mtDNA of Southeastern
Asia (Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam) , Eastern Asia (Mongol, China) , and Southern Asia (Pakistan) (Sultana
et al., submitted). We sequenced the hypervariable I region (HVI) of mitochondrial displacement loop
(D-loop). The nucleotide length is 579-bp. Using the sequence data set, we constructed
phylogenetic trees, analyzed sequence diversity, and estimated genetic frequencies in each country.

Mitochondrial lineages in domestic goats

Figure 1 shows the mitochondrial phylogenetic tree of Asian domestic goats. The mtDNA of Asian
domestic goats were classified into four distinct mt-lineages A, B, C and D. Mt-lineage D has not been
detected before our study. Mt-lineage C and D and was observed in Pakistan, Mongol and China,
but in Southeastern countries. Mt-lineage A is major mitochondrial lineage and next is mt-lineage B.
This phylogenetic topology was further supported by analysis of cytochrome b gene sequences.

Figure 1 A neighbor-joining tree for D-loop haplotypes of the Asian domestic goat breeds.
 Divergence times of goat mitochondrial lineages

Subsequently, Cytochrome b gene sequences of the four domestic goat and wild goat mt-
lineages were used to estimate the divergence time using divergence time between sheep and goat
of about 5 million years ago from the fossil record (Carroll, 1988). The estimated the approximate
time to the most commonrecent ancestor (TMCRA) of the domestic goat lineages was 427,007 YA.
Calibrated divergence time between mt-lineages A and D was 265,040 YA (Table 1).
Thus, estimates from the cytochrome b data were significantly different from the domestication
time of 10,000 years ago. These results suggest pre-domestic maternal origins of four distinct
ancestral mitochondrial lineages.

Table 1 Estimated divergence times among mtDNAlineages (years)

Genetic frequencies of mitochondrial lineages in Asia and the domestication center of goat

Figure 2 shows genetic frequencies of the four mt-lineages in six countries. In Eastern Asia
(Mongol, China) and Southern Asia (Pakistan) , Mt-lineage A is predominant and the other lineages
reveal low frequencies. In contrast, genetic frequencies of mt-lineage B are quite high in Southeast
Asia (Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam) and mt-lineage C and D are not observed. This result suggests the
hypothesis of multiple maternal origins and multiple domestication centers. One plausible
domestication center has been described in Middle East (Taurus, Southeastern Turkey and West
Zagros, Iran). However, the domestication center of mt-lineage B is unlikely in these areas because
the mt-lineage B was not observed in Europe, Africa and Middle East and was major in Southeast
countries. The domestication center of mt-lineage B might be Balukistan in Pakistan or much
further eastern area.

Analyses of mitochondrial DNA provide understanding of the diversity or ancestral origin (s) of
domestic goat. However, additional molecular studies will lead us to know the origin(s) of domestic
goats. Especially, analyses using Y chromosome and autosomal genetic markers (probably
microsatellite markers) are required to understand the genetic diversity in domestic goats.
 Figure 2 Geographic distribution of the four mtDNA lineages in. The area of the circle is
proportional to the total number of samples (n) in each country; Mongol (n=98),
China (n=33), Myanmar (n=180), Laos (n=75), Vietnam (n=60), and Pakistan (n=202).

Acknowledgement

This experimental work was done by my students in Kobe University; Y. Nagata, S. Sultana
and M. Misako. I thank to Dr. S. Tsuji (Kobe University), Dr. K. Nozawa (Kyoto University) and Dr.
D.G. Bradley (Trinity College) for helpful suggestions, Dr. T. Namikawa (Nagoya University), Y.
Maeda (Kagoshima University) and many colleagues for sampling trip in Laos and Myanmar. I also
thank the Society for Researches on Native Livestock.

References

Carroll R. L. (1988) Vertebrate Palaeontology and Evolution (Freeman, New York)

Harris D.R. (1961) The distribution and ancestry of the domestic goat. Journal ofLinnean Society of
London. 173, 79-91.
Loftus, R.T., E. MacHugh, D.E., Bradley, D.G., Sharp, P.M., and Cunningham, P. (1994). Evidence
for two independent domestications of cattle. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci USA 91: 2757.
Mason, I. L. (1984). Evolution of domesticated Animal Longman, London.
Mannen, H., Kojima, T, Oyama, K, Mukai, E, Ishida, T, and Tsuji, S. (1998a). Effect of
mitochondrial DNA variation on carcass traits of Japanese Black cattle. /. Anitn. Sci. 76(1) : 36.
Mannen, H., Tsuji, S., Loftus, R. T, and Bradley, D. G. (1998b). Mitochondrial DNA Variation and
 Evolution of Japanese Black Cattle (Bos taurus). Genetics. 150: 1169.
Mannen H., Nagata Y. & Tsuji, S. (2001) Mitochondrial DNA reveal that domestic goat (Capra
hircus) are genetically affected by two subspecies of bezoar (Capra aegagurus). Biochemical
Genetics 39, 145-54.
Sultana, S., H. Mannen and S. Tsuji, Mitochondrial DNA diversity of Pakistani goats: the earliest
signs of goat herding in Northwest South Asia (Submitted)
Zeuner, E E. (1963). A History of Domesticated Animals, Hutchinson, London.

Sasaki: Bezoar found in the Middle and Near East are thought to have been domesticated there
first and then to have moved to the west and east. Did Marchor influence the Besoar? In the case of
migration, usually it is the males that migrate to another region. Could you deduce this influence
from the results of the mitochondrial DNA data set.

Mannen: The French group reported that domesticated goats and three wild goat species had
been allocated to completely different groups. If Marchor had influenced the domesticated goat
population, it was likely through male wild goats being crossed with a small proportion of
domesticated females. We may have to study the Y-chromosome not the mitochondria. From the
phylogenic tree, its topology indicates that Besoar is the mainstream. From the findings of
mitochondrial studies, it is difficult to trace back any influence from the Marchor or that from Ibex.
The Genetic Diversity of Chicken

Shin OKAMOTO

Laboratory of Animal Breeding and Genetics

Faculty of Agriculture
Kagoshima University

The chicken is an animal with many varieties, next of the dog. About more than 200 varieties of
chicken are being raised in the world. We have been interested in the origin of domestic fowls.
In the genus Gallus, there are four species of jungle fowls. These are the Red jungle fowl
(Gallus gallus) , the Grey jungle fowl (Gallus sonneratii) , the Ceylon jungle fowl {Gallus lafayettii)
and the Green jungle fowl {Gallus varius). Concerning what species of the jungle fowl is the
ancestor of the domestic fowl, there are two kinds of theories suggested. The one is the
monophyletic origin that the Red jungle fowl is the sole ancestor of domestic fowl, and the other is
the polyphyletic origin that more than one species of jungle fowl contribute to the formation of
domestic fowl.
The studies on the relationship between the jungle and the domestic fowl have been done
from ecological, morphological, biochemical and chromosomal viewpoints. Since 1971, a Japanese
research group has been doing research activities in Southeast Asia with interest in the evolution
and domestication of jungle fowls. Two species, the Red and the Green jungle fowls, still inhabit in
the Java and the Bali Islands. From hearing survey, the habitat of the Red jungle fowl was limited to
the deep forest, while the Green jungle fowl lived even in a small bush near the cultivated field
besides in the forest (Nishida et al., 1980). Nishida et al. (1992) made a map of distribution of 5
subspecies of the Red jungle fowl based on the results of their field investigation and on other
publications. By examining gene frequencies at four blood group and seven electrophoretic loci,
Okada et al. suggested that the average genetic distances between the domestic fowl and jungle
fowl were small for the Red jungle fowl, intermediate for the Grey jungle fowl, and very large for
the Ceylonese and the Green jungle fowls. Hashiguchi et al. (1993) suggested that from the results
of analyzing of blood protein polymorphisms the Grey jungle fowl was genetically similar to the
Ceylonese jungle fowl, and the Green jungle fowl was genetically remote from the other jungle
fowls and the native fowl. The diploid chromosome number of the jungle and the domestic fowl is
78, but in their karyotypes No.3 chromosomes showed a morphological difference (Okamoto et al.,
1988).
Recently, Akishinonomiya et al. (1996) suggested that a continental population of Gallus gallus
gallus sufficed as the monophyletic ancestor of all domestic breeds, by determining mtDNA
sequences of the D-loop regions.
Like the above, various information is being accumulated on the domestication of the chicken
at present. The ideas of researchers not always agree, but their results all showed that the Red
jungle fowl has the most genetically near relation to the domestic fowl. In addition, it is considered
that the Red jungle fowl has the widest habitat in the jungle fowls. From these facts, it is suggested
that the Red jungle fowl might do the considerable contribution in the evolutional process in
formation of the chicken. But, on the relation with other 3 kinds of jungle fowls, it is supposed that
their information is yet insufficient.
This study introduces some works of the genetic analysis in the chicken done mainly in my
laboratory, in order to clarify the genetic relationship between the jungle fowls and domestic fowl.

1. Blood Protein Polymorphisms

Blood samples collected in Southeast Asia and Japan were separated into plasma and
erythrocyte and stored separately in a freezer (-40°C). Seventeen loci controlling 14 kinds of blood
protein were usually screened for genetic variation by starch gel or agar gel electrophoresis. The
list of the genetic loci analyzed is given in table 1. The genetic variability within population was
quantified by measuring the proportion of polymorphic loci, Ppoiyyand average heterozygosity. The
genetic distances were calculated by Nei's formula (Nei, 1972). From the matrix of the genetic
distance values, the dendrograms was drawn by the unweighted pair-group method of clustering in
numerical taxonomy (Sokal and Sneath, 1963).
Table 2 shows the gene frequencies of polymorphic loci of native fowl in Laos. The three
surveyed areas, Viangchan, Louangphrabang and Pakxe, showed almost the same gene frequencies
in all loci. Of the 17 loci analyzed by electrophoresis, polymorphisms were detected at 7 loci. The
remaining 10 loci, Amy-3, LDH, PGM, PHI, To, MDH, Es-D, Hb-1 and Hb-2, were monomorphic.
Maeda et al. (1992) indicated that the gene frequency of Amy-IA is gradually decreasing from

Table 1. List of blood proteins examined.

 Table 2. Gene frequencies of polymorphic loci of native fowl in Laos.

south to north. In this study, it is also recognized that Amy-IA gene is decreased in order of
Indonesia (0.816), Laos (0.224) and Nepal (0.184). By including this data and the previous data of
protein polymorphisms in Bangladesh (Okada et al, 1988), Nepal (Maeda et al, 1992) and
Indonesia (Hashiguchi, et al., 1993), the dendrogram among native fowls and jungle fowls was
illustrated in figure 1. Laos native fowl was genetically close to Bangladesh native fowl, and the
genetic distance between them was estimated as 0.01. And, these populations and Nepal native fowl
were clustered in one group.

2. Karyotype
Blood was drawn from the cutaneous vein of the elbow with a heparin-wetted syringe, and
centrifuged at 400 r.p.m. for 5 minutes. Lymphocyte rich supernatant fluid was used as a sample.
The culture medium was composed of 4.0 ml of RPMI-1640, 0.1 ml of antibiotic solution (penicillin
& streptomycin), 0.1 ml of phytohemagglutinin (PHA; Wellcome) and 0.2-0.5 ml of sample.
Incubation was over, the cell was treated with hypotonic solution (0.075 M KC1) for 10 minutes. As
 Genetic distance
Figure 1. Dendrogram showing genetic similarities among native fowls and jungle Fowls.
NF: native fowl, JF: jungle fowl
a: Okada et al. (1988), b: Maeda et al (1992), c: Hashiguchi et al. (1993)

repeating the fixation more than three times, three drops of cell suspension were placed on the
center of a slide and held momentarily over steam. Steam-dried chromosome preparations were
then stained with 5% Giemsa solution.
It was observed that the metaphase cells of jungle fowls and domestic fowl lymphocytes
consisted of macrochromosomes and microchromosomes. Careful counting on the metaphase
plates from each fowl made it clear that the diploid chromosome number of the jungle and the
native fowls is 78. Their chromosomes were arranged into 39 pairs according to decreasing size,
and were divided into 10 pairs of macrochromosomes and 29 pairs of microchromosomes. The
karyotypes of the four species of jungle fowls looked almost the same (table 3). Macrochromosomes
were identified unequivocally according to the size and position of the centromere. Microchromosomes
were too minute to distinguish each other, but they may be acrocentric. It was observed that there
was no difference in ten pairs of macrochromosomes between the Red jungle fowl, the Grey jungle
fowl, the Ceylonese jungle fowl and the domestic fowl. On the other hand, No.3 chromosomes of
the Green jungle fowl showed subtelocentric that was a different type from the other jungle fowls
and the domestic fowl.

Table 3. Analysis of the karyotype of jungle fowls and Fi.

R: Red jungle fowl; G: Grey jungle fowl; C: Ceylonese jungle fowl; c: domestic fowl;
Gr: Green jungle fowl; Fi: Green jungle fowl-Gifu native fowl hybrid.
3. Mitochondrial DNA Polymorphisms
Wesequenced mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) to assay genetic variation. Initially we compare
cytochrome b sequences (cyt b) among four Red jungle fowl subspecies and four Asian native fowl
populations (table 4). DNA from blood was extracted by means of a standard phenol/chloroform
protocol (Sambrook et al. 1989). 1143bp of cyt b region were amplified from whole DNA via the
polymerase chain reaction (PCR). We estimated the number of haplotypes and segregating sites,
and the gene diversity from the aligned sequences. Distances were calculated by the Kimura's two-
parameter model (Kimura, 1980) and the neighbor-joining option (Saitou and Nei 1987) in the
PHYLIP 3.5c package (Felsenstein 1993) was used for distance analyses. Nucleotide diversity and its
standard error were estimated using the program Arlequin package (Schneider et al. 2000). Population
structure was also analyzed by performing analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) by Arlequin.
For the AMOVA,we make assumptions that samples from each country represent populations.
Table 5 shows a summary of genetic structure including nucleotide diversities ( x) and mean

Table 4. List of samples examined in this study.

Table 5. Genetic Variability of the study populations.

number of nucleotide differences. Analysis of sequences showed 107 polymorphic positions,
representing 9% of the total sequence obtained. 75.7% of mutations detected corresponded to
transitions. In the red jungle fowl populations, the average nucleotide diversity of G.g.gallus was
lower than the other two subspecies. The Vietnam native fowl in the study population have also low
nucleotide diversity than the other populations.
The haplotypic neighbor-joining tree is shown in figure 2. Two main clusters of haplotypes can
be recognized. G.g.bankiva was classified into the cluster separated from others. However,
neighbor-joining analysis showed no clear relationship among the three red jungle fowl subspecies
{G.g.gallus, G.g.spadiceus and G.g.jabouillei) and the four native fowl populations.

Figure 2. Haplotypic neighbor-joining tree of cyt b sequences. Haplotype names are as follows: G.g.gallus,
GGG01-05; G.g.spadiceus, GGS01-03; G.g.jabouillei, GGJ01-07; G.g.bankiva, GGB01-02; G.varius,
GV01-05; Indonesian native fowl, 101-06; Sri Lanka native fowl, S01-08; Thailand native fowl, T01-
06; Vietnam native fowl, V01-04.
 Table 6 shows a summary of matrix of Slatkin linearized FSTs and exact test of sample
differentiation based on haplotype frequencies. Some indication of clustering of variation was
detected from pairwise FST genetic distances between populations.

Table 6. Population pairwise Fst genetic distances among populations.

In order to focus on the relationship among three red jungle fowl subspecies (G.g.gallus,
G.g.spadiceus, and G.g.jabouillei) , a minimum spanning tree was constructed from two components
(figure 3). The first one includes haplotypes from G.g.gallus. The second group contains the other
two subspecies. Native fowl populations were included each.

Figure 3. Minimum spanning tree constructed from fowl 1143bp cyt b sequences.

References

Akishinonomiya, E, Miyake, T., Takada, M., Shingu, R., Endo, T, Gojobori, T., Kondo, N. and Ohno,
S. (1996) Monophyletic origin and unique dispersal patterns of domestic fowls. Proc. Natl.
Acad. Sci. USA, 93: 6792-6795.
Felsenstein, J. (1993) PHYLIP (Phylogeny Inference Package) version 3.5c. Distributed by the
author. Department of Genetics, University of Washington, Seattle.
Kimura, M. (1980) A simple method for estimating evolutionary rates of base substitutions through
comparative studies of nucleotide sequences. J. Mol. Evol. 16: 111-120.
Kumar, S., Tamura, K., Jakobsen, I. and Nei, M. (2001) MEGA2: Molecular Evolutionary Genetics
Analysis software, Bioinformatics (submitted)
Hashiguchi, T., Nishida, T., Hayashi, Y., Maeda, Y. and Mansjore, S. S. (1993) Blood protein
polymorphisms of native and jungle fowls in Indonesia. Asian-Aus. J. Anim. Sci., 6: 27.
Maeda, Y, Inafuku, K., Yamamoto, Y, Nishida, T., Hashiguchi, T., Okada and Rajbhandary, H. B.
(1992) Protein polymorphisms in the native chicken and red jungle fowl in Nepal. Res. Soc.
Native Livestock, 14: 219-233.
Nei, M. (1972) Genetic distance between populations. Amer. Nat., 106: 283-292.
Nishida, T., Hayashi, Y, Hashiguchi, T. and Mansjoer, S. S. (1982) Distribution and identification of
jungle fowl in Indonesia. The origin and Phylogeny of Indonesia Native Livestock, Part E[ : 85-
95.
Nishida, T., Hayashi, Y, Shotake, T., Maeda, Y, Yamamoto, Y, Kurosawa, Y, Douge, K. and Hongo,
A. (1992) A morphological identification and ecology of the red jungle fowl in Nepal. Animal
Science and Technology, 63: 256-269.
Okada, I., Maeda, Y, Hashiguchi, T, Hasnath, M. A, Frauque, M. O. and Majid, M. A. (1988) Gene
constitution of indigenous chickens in Bangladesh. Jpn. Poult. Sci., 17: 334-343.
Okamoto, S., Maeda, Y and Hashiguchi, T (1988) Analysis of the karyotypes of four species of
jungle fowl. Jpn. J. Zootech. Sci., 59: 146-151.
Saitou, N. and Nei, M. (1987). The neighbor-joining method: A new method for reconstructing
phylogenetic trees. Mol. Biol. Evol. 4: 406-425.
Sambrook, J., Fritsch, E.F. and Maniatis, T (1989) Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, 2nd
edition, Cold Spring Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, New York.
Schneider, S., Roessli, D. and Excoffier, L. (2000) Arlequin: A software for population genetics data
analysis. Ver 2.000. Genetics and Biometry Lab, Dept. of Anthropology, University of Geneva.
Sokal, R. R. and Sneath, P. H. A. (1963) Principles of numerical taxonomy. Freeman, San Francisco
and London.

Ito: How about the morphology of the third chromosome in phasianidae other than Gallus sp.,
such as pheasants and quails?

Okamoto: The third chromosome of the quail is acrocentric. Unfortunately, we did not study the
other species of the phasianidae family.
3. General Discussion

Chairpersons NAMIKAWA,T
AMANO, T
Comments

Chinese Animal Resources

CHANG, Hong

Yangzhou University, China

Chinese native cattle have differentiated into three types: the south yellow cattle in the
Yangtze River valley and to the South of it, the north pastureland yellow cattle and the central
plains yellow cattle distributed in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River.
Chinese cattle were regarded as a mixed blood race between commoncattle and the zebu. In
the 1980s, Namikawa suggested that the Banteng (viz.. Bos sondaicus) is one of the sources of
domestic cattle in Southeast Asia. This inference concurs with accounts on wild bovine in Chinese
ancient books.
The Chinese south yellow cattle, especially mini-cattle in the mountain area of Hunan province
and the Guangxi region are thought to be mixed blood descendants of some extinct land
subspecies of Banteng. This subspecies have been widely distributed in the southern part of China.
From the point of view of use as meat, yellow cattle, in the middle and lower reaches of the
Yellow River, are better than those either in the pastureland areas or in the southern areas. On the
other hand, this breed is also thought to be more advantageous than modern beef breeds
originating from Western Europe from the following three aspects: firstly, the muscle fiber is thin,
the meat tastes good; secondly, it can be digested as a byproduct of commodity production, which
reduces the raising costs; thirdly, it has adapted to tropic climates. The past bad impression as to
its meat properties seems to be the result of the use of cattle that were too old for meat production.
During the 1980s, the late professor Qiu Huai revealed that the meat qualities of Qinchuan cattle,
such as the average daily weight increase, dressing percentage, lean meat percentage and rib eye
area during the fatting period, were not inferior to those of the Shorthorn, Charolais or other beef
breeds. These findings indicate that middle land yellow cattle had the potential to show good meat
properties, but this conclusion was ignored.
Presently there are seven subspecies of Wild Boar in China. The origin of Chinese swine is
multiplex at the subspecies level. China is a broad region with a varied range of ecosystems,
socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. Over a long period of historical development, various
local swine breeds have formed. Chinese swine has many excellent properties. Besides the
outstanding reproductivity of the populations in the Taihu basin, the other advantages of various
local breeds are becoming increasingly recognized. North China breeds have better meat qualities,
such as thin muscle fiber, high density of muscle fiber in the muscle cross section, much

-101-
intermuscular fat, less connective tissue, more defined test values for muscle hydroaffinity, total
pigment, tenderness and cooked meat proportion, than for European breeds. The nearly 20 years
of emphasis on average daily weight gain and lean meat rate has had a great impact on the
conservation of local swine breeds. For most people, however, meat from traditional breeds has a
better taste. The price trend among various local breeds has been the main force influencing
farmers to contend with hybridization pressure.
Chinese native sheep breeds include thin-tailed, short-fat-tailed, large-fat-tailed and fat-hipped
breeds. They have the potential for various uses such as for carpet wool, lambskin, pelts and meat.
Recent studies reveal that they are the paramount genetic resources for high reproductive rates,
large body size, and adaptability to high elevations.
According to Nozawa's classification, Chinese goat populations belong to the Bezoar-type,
Savanna-type or cross types of these. They have varied ecological characteristics and economic
uses. It is evident that the high reproductivity of goats from the Huang-Huai river basin and the
productivity of Cashmere goats from North China and Tibet are valuable genetic resources.
In a word, the native domestic animal breeds should be preserved, because:
1) They contain various valuable genetic resources for the further improvement of the Cashmere
breeds;
2) Human beings have varying needs at different times and in different areas. Breeding practice
depending on a poor gene pool will never be able to meet the long-term needs of social development;
3) Genetic resources adapted to harsh environments should be preserved to allow adaption to
varied ecological conditions;
4) Some ancient local breeds such as the long-tailed chicken from Japan and Huacaya from
Peruvian plateau are of vital cultural and scientific value.

Characterization and AnGR Inventory in Myanmar

U Maung MaungNyunt

Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department, Myanmar

Myanmar has become one of the twelve participating countries in the Regional FAO project
entitled "Conservation and Use of Animal Genetic Resources in Asia and the Pacific." With the
assistance of this project it has initiated some activities in breeding surveys. The first stage of the
survey is to identify breeds and their estimated population structure. Identification of distinct
livestock breeds in many cases is a difficult task. Judgment may vary depending on the person who
prepares the inventory. In poultry, there are so many phenotypic variations that grouping them into
distinct breeds is a complicated task.
 In Myanmar, there are still no breeding associations or similar groups dedicated to maintaining
breeds in a relatively distinct form. Factors to be considered are regional isolation, use patterns,
differences in morphological and physiological characteristics, breeding patterns, historical background
as to the origin of the breed, and finally, the most important factor is the degree of genetic isolation.
Myanmarhas attempted a listing of livestock breeds during the project period. More thorough
and comprehensive study and the detailed characterization of breeds is yet to be undertaken.
Present level of technology relevant to AnGR
In Myanmar artificial insemination technology has been established for cattle. It is used to
some extent for pigs. It was also tried on buffalo, mithan and poultry. On military farms, it is used
to breed mares with donkeys to produce mules. The technique has never been applied to sheep
and goats. AI is extensively used in only one species, cattle AI, which was started in 1967 with fresh
semen and this was replaced by frozen semen in the early eighties. The frozen semen technique
has never been attempted for pigs.
Research Collaboration
Information on the genetic resources of native livestock and closely related wild animals in
Myanmar has been summarized by LBVD. Due to the ongoing crossbreeding between native
livestock and exotic breeds, the number of pure native livestock has been declining. In this context,
studies on the genetic constitution of native livestock in Myanmar is a critical requirement.
Research collaboration has been initiated between LBVD and Japanese scientists to study the
genetic properties of the animal resources of native livestock in Myanmar.
Under the research collaboration program
Fourteen Professors, Assistant Professors and PhD students led by Dr. Y. Maeda visited
Myanmar twice in the year 2000 and 2001. This was to evaluate the genetic properties of cattle,
water buffalo, mithan, horses, sheep, goats, pigs, chickens, ducks, jungle fowl and mice by means
of genetic analysis such as the study of body size, external characteristics, protein polymorphism,
blood type and DNA polymorphism. The evaluation of livestock genetic resources in Myanmar by
means of biochemical and molecular techniques, a workshop on electrophoresis techniques, a
seminar on Genetic Studies of Native Livestock in Myanmar and Asia have been conducted. Papers
on the principles of livestock breeding by Dr. Y. Maeda and papers on genetic studies on native
chickens in Asia by Dr. Y. Yamamoto in the MVC annual meeting were presented.
Future requirements
At present, there are a few qualified trained personnel in genetic resources issues in Myanmar.
Most of the graduates are trained in population genetics and molecular genetics is a new subject for
the country. For this reason, training in these subjects should be given both locally and abroad.
Higher academic courses such as at the M.Sc and Ph.D level are also required for the development
of competent personnel. In addition, the dissemination of knowledge on genetics should be
conducted at the level of livestock farmers to enable them to participate actively in the project. Due
to this project, Myanmar has just initiated genetics activities in the country. With the cooperation of
the Japanese Government, Myanmar will be able to extend its ongoing activities in the near future.
 Survey of 12 Species of domestic animal and there are about 33 breeds of livestock in Myanmar
Population size and date pertaining to these breeds is still yet to be thoroughly surveyed

Exotic livestock, breeds available in Myanmar Annex Tabl (B)

Animal Genetic Resources in Korea

CHO, Chang Yeon

National Livestock Research Institute, Korea

Many wall paintings excavated from graves or caves of 1,500 years ago show horses and cattle,
but there are no pictures of goats.
Wehave native cattle, goats, horses, pigs and chickens in Korea. The situation of Korean
native domestic animal breeds is similar to Japan in that they are at risk of extinction.
Most of Korean cattle are yellow, and occasionally other colors, tiger-striped or black are
found. Korean cattle have been utilized from around 2,000 years ago in Korean Peninsula and are
temperate and were fed on coarse feedstuff. The meat quality of the cattle is good. Korean cattle
have been used in agricultural farming in general, but presently most cattle are being improved for
meat production. The number of cattle increased from 400,000 in 1950 to 2.45 million in 1995.
However, due to economic circumstances, the number decreased to 1.45 million by June 2002.
Records related to Korean goats have been found from 600 years ago. Most native Korean
goats are black with horns and some individuals have a white muzzle. Brown goats are also
occasionally found in Korea. The number of native goats in Korea was 440,000 in 2002. Four hundred
Korean native goats are conserved as AnGR at the National Livestock Research Institute (NLRI).
Korean native pigs are endangered due to their small size and the native pig had practically
disappeared from Korea by 1970. NLRI introduced nine native pigs, four males and five females, in
1988. The numbers had recovered to 10,000 by 1996. Seven national and local research institutions
conserved 533 native pigs in 2002.
Korean native chickens became endangered in the late 1970s. NLRI introduced five native
chicken lines characterized by their plumage colors of dark red, black, gray, white, and silky from
the late 1970s to the early 1980s. The number of native chickens conserved in nine institutions of
the national and local governments totalled 12,000. Five million native chickens are being reared by
ordinary farmers.
In Cheju Island, the Cheju horse and other native horses are being conserved. The Cheju
horse was designated a natural treasure. There are 31 males and 93 females being conserved in a
local research institute. The distribution of 559 horses took place to 63 general farms from 1987 to
2001.
The productivity of Korean native livestock has been thought to be unfavorable for farmers,
and farmers did not want to keep native livestock. The Korean government implemented
legislative action for their conservation and utilization this year. These actions include stipulation of
the conservation and management of AnGRs in animal production law and the designation of an
implementing organization through the organization of the NCC.
Comprehensive Commenton Asian Native Domestic Animals

NOZAWA, Ken

Prof. Emeritus, Kyoto University, Japan

The most ancient type of domestic goat was indistinguishable from the wild Besoar goat. All
the individuals dug up from archeological sites of the period 8000 B.C. to 7000 B.C. were of this
type.
After 2000 years of the Besoar, a Savannah type with a screw-shaped horn emerged in Western
Asia and spread throughout the world in accordance with the distribution of the Besoar.
Then after 2,000 years of Savannah type dispersal, the Jamnapari type with very long ears
emerged in India and dispersed from India into South Asia to the South-East Asian islands. The
Jamnapari type easily crossed with other types. The cashmere goat originated in Savanna type. In
Northeast Asia, the Besoar and Savanna type became mixed and the extent of hybridization varied
depending on the breed. In the Southern part of Asia, the Jamnapari type was mixed further as
another genetic factor.
Mannen's report basically concurs with these facts, however, some results were inconsistent
with Mannen's results. The inconsistency with Mannen's results might be considered to be due to
the fact that his results came from mitochondrial DNA analysis, which is known to be based on
maternal inheritance.
In case of the Asian native horse, the genetic factors from Southeast Asia are few and
Mongolian horse factors have an overwhelming genetic influence. The genetic constitution of the
Cheju horse is almost the same as that of the Mongolian horse. The Japanese horse has come from
and passed through Korea to the Hokkaido in the north and to the Yonaguni and Tokara Isles to
the south of Japan. Mongolia invaded Vietnam and the Vietnamese horse was also affected by the
Mongolian horse. The Bengalese horse was also largely affected by the Mongolian horse and is
thought to be minimally affected by the Occidental horse.
The Asian cat was analysed genetically by using morphological phenotypes. The orange color
gene (O) frequency showed clinal changes, from high Asia to low Europe. In the Tabby locus, the
Abyssinian (Ta) type found frequently in South Asia and the Blotched tabby (tb) type predominates
in Europe. A kinky tail was frequently found in Southeast Asia and Japan and in coastal regions
around the Chinese trade ports. However, few if any kinky-tailed cats are found in inland China and
Europe.
As presented here, the geographical genetic trend differed according to the species. It should
be considered that Southeast Asian genetic factors strongly affected the present distribution of
native domestic animals in Asia.
General Discussion

Ito: How is the kinky tail of the cat genetically controlled?

Nozawa: The genes involved are not clear and are considered to be of a polygenic character. The
frequency data shown was a phenotype of the tail.

Sasaki: From the global point of view, what is the extent of variation of the wild boar or how many
species or subspecies of wild pig exist in the world?

Kurosawa: In the Eurasian wild boar, Sus scrofa, which is considered to be the ancestor of the pig
has altogether 30 subspecies. They are found in Europe, China and Southeast Asia and we do not
know exactly where the ancestors come from. As I indicated in the report, the other species, such
as the warty pig and bearded pig can be assumed to be among the origins of the pig gene pool. The
genes found in the domesticated pig population are also found in the wild pig and vice versa. I think
the difference between domesticated pigs and wild pigs is not so great.

Kobayashi: I studied the genetic relationship between pigs and the Japanese wild boar of three
regions; Gunma, Shimane and Miyazaki using DNA polymorphism. The wild boars of Miyazaki and
Gunmapossessed commonalleles in one gene locus, 30-40% and less than 10%, respectively, with
the domesticated pig. However, no commonallele was found in Shimane. It seems the differences
found between the regions comes from the difference in the habit of eating wild boar meat. In
Miyazaki, eating wild boar meat is popular. In contrast, boar meat is not consumed in the other
regions. Wild boar is thought as a pest animal in Shimane but is treated as a marketable product in
Gunma.I presume that this result came from pigs being hybridized to increase the productivity of
wild boar in the regions where wild boar meat is consumed.

Oda: When were the various morphologies of domestic pigs acquired? I think most of the
variation was acquired during and after domestication.

Kurosawa: I agree with you that the variation in pigs occurred after domestication. Clay figures of
long-eared pigs of the period before Christ were uncovered in China. So China has a long history of
pig domestication.

Faruque: Three questions to Dr. Taneja; 1. With regard to the cattle breeds of India close to
Bangladesh, I would like to know the distribution and frequency of Chittagong Red cattle in the
eastern part of India; 2. The white Bengal goat is distributed widely in Bangladesh, however, the
frequency of occurrence of the white goat is low. I have an interest in getting information on the
distribution and frequency of the white Bengal goat in the eastern part of India; 3. Mithan, which is
called gayal in Bangladesh, constitutes a small population of gayal and the peripheral population
migrates between Bangladesh and India. I would like to know whether the data on mithan were
taken from the mithan husbanded by farmers or from governmental institutions.

Taneja: There is a national center for mithan and the focus of the center is basically to look at the
mithan population in their native environment, to look at their management system and to look at
their utility. We have another institute on the yak. Extensive studies on mithan and yak, which are
lesser known species, are undertaken with the focus on optimizing their utility in the regions
where they are basically indigenous. There is great scope for improvement both with regards to
processing activity both for meat and milk from the yak and so forth. The intention is to increase
their acceptability and utility in their production environment. The frequency of the white Bengal
is very low. I would like to indicate that some hill goats are small in size but the quality is high. At
the moment, by increasing the size, the quality declines. The genetic characterization of these
breeds is very difficult since they are in one cluster and there is not a wide variation among them.
Regarding the Chittagong Red cattle, India is a large country and has a very high degree of
agricultural diversity. This diversity relates to addressing the problem of their resources in their
region. What we do if a project comes up on city cattle or Chittagong cattle is that we try to give the
farmer the money and ask them that as far as they can they should gather basic information on
this. We have already published monographs on Chittagong cattle and Black Bengal cattle.

Wagner: As a member of FAO, our main worry is hunger throughout the world. We are strongly
convinced that livestock production is, for many people in the poor and rural areas, a way out of
poverty. Now I would like to ask those who did all the research today, whether can we find any
positive linkages of this research to improving livestock productivity or perhaps to more economic
conservation efforts? That is our view; how can we improve productivity and how can we feed
more people in the world. I admit the question is a little bit provocative, but my worry is that many
developing countries who want also to engage in this kind of research are going to invest a lot of
money in this kind of research. And the question is, would I devote sufficient resources on the
other hand for research that will really improve productivity and improve livelihoods in their
countries.

Taneja: Research in science should have its ultimate focus on improvement. Ensuring this ultimate
focus as we said at the beginning has to be on the sustainable utilization of AnGRs. Westarted with
physical characterization, we went on to cytogenetic characterization, biochemical polymorphism
and then today we have come to the stage of using molecular markers for characterization. These
polymorphisms will help us greatly as parameters that could be economically linked to
improvements. However, a major difficulty arises in terms of the total resource requirement and
total resources available. The extent of data and the focus of FAO with regard to the matter of the
state of world's animal genetic resources is to identify those breeds that are available for use today
and possibly partly due to either industrialization or innovative technologies use on at finding them
to be sustainable. Should we conserve those populations, or how long should we conserve these
populations and what is the total cost of all this. And I would like to make a request to all those
working together in partnership. If we look at these parameters it will greatly help us in looking at
the genetic strength of these populations. And after we have looked at the genetic strength in terms
of either gene polymorphism or related economic parameters, these should form a significant part
of the determination of such priorities. This will greatly help us to identify these populations, which
would have value. Secondly, we will need capacity and capability to deal with this issue. Many of
these countries may not have the capability or may not have the resources, so it is against this
background that the linkages between institutions, linkages between countries will have to be
developed. The last speaker indicated the Mongolian lineage with regards to horses and explained
that the Jamnapari have moved from India to Asian countries, which clearly indicated the kinds of
changes that have gone on. History is able to explain exactly how gene flows occurred and with
that background we should try to physically look into populations and conduct analyses.

Obata: Thank you for indicating your valuable opinions and I think the value of having this kind of
workshop is to get this kind of opinion. As to animal genetic resources, their importance is well
accepted by everyone. As the size of the human population increases, the importance of AnGRs
increases even further. I think this is the common awareness of all the participants. In Japan, we
have the Society for Research on Native Livestock and we have conducted various basic studies
that have been reported on today. The content of the research starts from proteins to DNA and
chromosomes, so it is developing in terms of technology and in terms of areas of research.
Through the accumulation of data, we can share information with regard to the AnGRs and by
accumulating the data, it is possible to have a deeper understanding of the present situation and the
challenges ahead. We have the opportunity to prepare a country report for FAO and we have had
valuable presentations and exchanges of opinion in the workshop today and yesterday. We will
summarize and publish the proceedings of this workshop as reference material that can be
distributed to the stakeholders. It can be utilized in many ways as a data source. I think this is one
way of contributing to the improvement of the food situation throughout the world.
Closing Remarks

KURISAKI , Junichi

Director of Genetic Diversity Department,

National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences

It is my great pleasure to make these remarks at the end of workshop on behalf of the
organizing committee. In the past 5 years, 35% of the mammalian and 63% of avian breeds have
been reported to be endangered in terms of agricultural animal genetic resources. Such a critical
situation in terms of animal genetic resources is not exceptional for countries in the Asian region.
Since the Convention on Biological Diversity came into force in 1993, the importance of the
utilization and conservation of animal genetic resources has been much better recognized world
wide. In 1999, FAO started developing a global strategy for the management of animal genetic
resources. Under this global strategy, the preparation of a report on the state of the world's animal
genetic resources is now in progress and nearly 140 countries are preparing country reports and in
accordance with such worldwide efforts on animal genetic resources, we planned to hold this
international workshop inviting guest speakers from the FAO and Asian countries, including Japan.
Yesterday after the introduction by Dr. Wagner on the progress of the preparation of these reports,
the present situation of animal genetic resources was comprehensively reported on by the guest
speakers from the China, India, Vietnam and Japan. Today, research reviews on the genetic
diversity of Asian livestock were presented by the distinguished researchers. In addition, valuable
country reports on domestic animals were presented by the commentators from China, Myanmar
and Korea, and in addition Dr. Nozawa provided additional information. During this workshop, the
importance of international regional cooperation was suggested for survey research on animal
genetic resources and also for the achievement of the sustainable use and conservation of AnGRs.
All these efforts made this workshop fruitful. We sincerely hope that this workshop will be helpful
and encouraging for the preparation of the report on the State of the World's Animal Genetic
Resources and also stimulate international collaboration in the utilization and conservation of
animal genetic resources as well as in research on the genetic diversity of livestock. Finally, we
greatly appreciate all the honorable guests, chairpersons and participants from abroad and Japan
for the valuable information, discussions and cooperation they have contributed. Thank you very
much.
Participants
AMANO, Kazuhiro National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science, Japan
AMANO, Takashi (Chairperson, Organizing Committee) Tokyo University of Agriculture, Japan
ANDO, Mikio National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science, Japan
CHANG Hong (Commentator) Yangzhou University, China
CHO Chang Yeon (Commentator) National Livestock Research Institute, Korea
CHOI, You Lim Rural Development Administration, Korea
EBANA, Kaoru Genebank, NIAS, Japan
FARUQUE, Md Omar (Section2) Bangladesh Agricultural University, Bangladish
FUKUOKA, Shuichi Genebank, NIAS, Japan
FRUKAWA,Tsutomu National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science, Japan
HA, Jong Kyu Seoul National University, Korea
HAYASHI, Haruo National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science, Japan
HORITA, Mitsuo Genebank, NIAS, Japan
IMAIZUMI, Eitaro Livestock Technology Association, Japan
INOUE, Hajime Vice President, NIAS, Japan
IRIE, Kenji Genebank, NIAS, Japan
ISHI, Takuro Genebank, NIAS, Japan
ITO, Masanori Tokyo University Department of Animal Genetic Resources, Japan
ITO, Isao Chiba University, Japan
ITO, Shinichi Gifu University, Japan
IZAIKE, Yoshiaki (Chairperson, Organizing Committee) Director of Developmental Biology, NIAS, Japan
KANEKO, Hiroyuki Genetic Diversity Department, NIAS, Japan
KANNO, Masako Tokyo University of Agriculture, Japan
KAWADA,Masae Genebank, NIAS, Japan
KATOH, Satoshi Genome Research Department, NIAS, JAPAN
KIKUCHI, Kazuhiro Genetic Diversity Department, NIAS, Japan
KIM, Kyung Ran Rural Development Administration, Korea
KOBAYSHI, Eiji National Livestock Breeding Center, Japan
KOJIMA, Yoichiro Genebank, NIAS, Japan
KURISAKI, Junichi (Closing Remark, Organizing Committee) Director of Genetic Diversity Department,
NIAS, Japan
KUROSAWA,Yaetsu (Section 2) Cattle Museum, Japan
MAEDA, Yoshizane (Chairperson) Kagoshima University, Japan
MANNEN, Hideyuki (Section 2) Kobe University, Japan
MARUYAMA,Kimiaki Mieji University, Japan
Maung Maung Nyunt (Commentator) Myanmar Livistock Breeding and Veterinary Department,
Myanmmar
MINEMATU, Takeo Tsukuba University, Japan
MINEZAWA, Mitsuru (Section 1, Secretary Staff) Genebank, NIAS, Japan
MIYAZAKI, Shoji (Chairperson, Organizing Committee) Director of Genebank, NIAS, Japan
MORIWAKI, Kazuo Riken Biorsource Center, Japan
MURAMATSU, Susumu Livestock Technology Association, Japan
NAGAMINE, Tsukasa (Secretary Staff) Genebank, NIAS, Japan
NAGAMINE, Yoshitaka National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science, Japan
NAMIKAWA,Takao (Chairperson) Nagoya University, Japan
MIKURA, Junko Genebank, MAS, Japan
NITTA, Miyuki Genebank, NIAS, Japan
NOGUCHI, Junko Genetic Diversity Department, NIAS, Japan
NOMURA, Koh Tokyo University of Agriculture, Japan
NOZAWA,Ken (Commentator) Prof. Emeritus, Kyoto University, Japan
OBARA, Yusaku Tsukuba University, Japan
OBATA, Taro (Welcome Remarks, Organizing Committee) Director of Genome and Biodiversity
Research, NIAS, Japan
ODA, Senichi Nagoya University, Japan
OKAMOTO, Shin (Section 2) Kagoshima University, Japan
OSHIBE, Akinori Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences, Japn
OZAWA,Manabu Tsukuba University, Japan
SAICHI, Namomi Tokyo University of Agriculture, Japan
SANO, Akiko Developmental Biology Department, NIAS, Japan
SASAKI, Tomoko Tokyo University of Agriculture, Japan
SASAKI, Yoshiyuki (Chairperson) Kyoto University, Japan
SATO, Toyozo (Secretary Staff) Genebank, NIAS, Japan
SHIBAHARA, Sayaka Tokyo University of Agriculture, Japan
SHIMANUKI, Shinichi STAFF Institute, Japan
SHIOYA, Yasuo (Organizing Committee) National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science, Japan
SHIRATA, Kazuto Genebank, NIAS, Japan
TAKAHASHI, Hideaki Genebank, NIAS, Japan
TAKAHASHI, Yukimizu Tokyo University of Agriculture, Japan
TANEJA, Vijay Kumar (Section 1) Indian Council of Agricultural Research, India
TANAKA, Kazuaki (Section 2) Azabu University, Japan
THUY, Le Thi (Section 1) National Institute of Animal Husbandry, Vietnam
TOJO, Hideaki Tokyo University Department of Animal Genetic Resources, Japan
TSUJI, Soichi (Chairperson) Kobe University, Japan
WAGNER, Hans-Gerhard (Keynote Adress) FAO-RAP
YAMAMOTO,Yoshio (Chairperson) Hiroshima University, Japan
YAMANE, Itsuro National Institute of Animal Health, Japan
YANG, Deji Nanjing Aguriculturarl University
Ye Tint Tun Genebank, NIAS, Japan
YUKUHIRO, Kenji Insect Genetics and Evolution Department, NIAS, Japan
ZHANG, Guixiang (Section 1) National Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Service, China
Organizing Committee
OBATA, Taro (Chairperson)
MIYAZAKI, Shoji
KURISAKI, Jun-ichi
IZAIKE, Yoshiaki
SHIOYA, Yasuo
AMANO,Takashi

S e cretariat
MINEZAWA, Mitsuru (Secretary General)
NAGAMINE, Tsukasa
SHIRATA, Kazuto
KAWADA,Masae
SATO , Toyozo
YUMURA,Katsutoshi
HISADA, Masahiko
ISHII, Takuro
FUKUOKA, Shu-ichi
EBANA, Kaworu
KOJIMA, Yoichiro
NAGAI, Toshiro
HORITA, Mitsup
TAKEUCHI, Kasumi
NOGUCHI, Junko
SHIINA, Tsugio
CHIBANA, Takashi
NAKAZAWA,Kyoko
MURAOKA, Fumiko
TANIGUCHI, Taniguchi
MIYASHITA, Susumu

Editorial Board
MINEZAWA, Mitsuru (Chief Editor)
KAWADA,Masae
TAKAHASHI, Hideaki
SATOH, Masahiro