Review of sheep breeding and genetic research in Türkiye
The livestock industry in Türkiye is vital to the country’s agricultural sector and economy. In particular, sheep products are an important source of income and livelihood for many Turkish smallholder farmers in semi-arid and highland areas. Türkiye is one of the largest sheep producers in the world...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Genetics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fgene.2024.1308113/full |
| _version_ | 1797347153580916736 |
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| author | Kenan Burak Aydin Ye Bi Luiz F. Brito Zafer Ulutaş Gota Morota Gota Morota |
| author_facet | Kenan Burak Aydin Ye Bi Luiz F. Brito Zafer Ulutaş Gota Morota Gota Morota |
| author_sort | Kenan Burak Aydin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The livestock industry in Türkiye is vital to the country’s agricultural sector and economy. In particular, sheep products are an important source of income and livelihood for many Turkish smallholder farmers in semi-arid and highland areas. Türkiye is one of the largest sheep producers in the world and its sheep production system is heavily dependent on indigenous breeds. Given the importance of the sheep industry in Türkiye, a systematic literature review on sheep breeding and genetic improvement in the country is needed for the development and optimization of sheep breeding programs using modern approaches, such as genomic selection. Therefore, we conducted a comprehensive literature review on the current characteristics of sheep populations and farms based on the most up-to-date census data and breeding and genetic studies obtained from scientific articles. The number of sheep has increased in recent years, mainly due to the state’s policy of supporting livestock farming and the increase in consumer demand for sheep dairy products with high nutritional and health benefits. Most of the genetic studies on indigenous Turkish sheep have been limited to specific traits and breeds. The use of genomics was found to be incipient, with genomic analysis applied to only two major breeds for heritability or genome-wide association studies. The scope of heritability and genome-wide association studies should be expanded to include traits and breeds that have received little or no attention. It is also worth revisiting genetic diversity studies using genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism markers. Although there was no report of genomic selection in Turkish sheep to date, genomics could contribute to overcoming the difficulties of implementing traditional pedigree-based breeding programs that require accurate pedigree recording. As indigenous sheep breeds are better adapted to the local environmental conditions, the proper use of breeding strategies will contribute to increased income, food security, and reduced environmental footprint in a sustainable manner. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T11:43:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8d1155ba210947b6976cd8fb97b296a5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-8021 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T11:43:34Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Genetics |
| spelling | doaj.art-8d1155ba210947b6976cd8fb97b296a52024-01-25T04:13:20ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Genetics1664-80212024-01-011510.3389/fgene.2024.13081131308113Review of sheep breeding and genetic research in TürkiyeKenan Burak Aydin0Ye Bi1Luiz F. Brito2Zafer Ulutaş3Gota Morota4Gota Morota5School of Animal Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, United StatesSchool of Animal Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, United StatesDepartment of Animal Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, United StatesDepartment of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Ondokuz Mayis University, Samsun, TürkiyeSchool of Animal Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, United StatesCenter for Advanced Innovation in Agriculture, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, United StatesThe livestock industry in Türkiye is vital to the country’s agricultural sector and economy. In particular, sheep products are an important source of income and livelihood for many Turkish smallholder farmers in semi-arid and highland areas. Türkiye is one of the largest sheep producers in the world and its sheep production system is heavily dependent on indigenous breeds. Given the importance of the sheep industry in Türkiye, a systematic literature review on sheep breeding and genetic improvement in the country is needed for the development and optimization of sheep breeding programs using modern approaches, such as genomic selection. Therefore, we conducted a comprehensive literature review on the current characteristics of sheep populations and farms based on the most up-to-date census data and breeding and genetic studies obtained from scientific articles. The number of sheep has increased in recent years, mainly due to the state’s policy of supporting livestock farming and the increase in consumer demand for sheep dairy products with high nutritional and health benefits. Most of the genetic studies on indigenous Turkish sheep have been limited to specific traits and breeds. The use of genomics was found to be incipient, with genomic analysis applied to only two major breeds for heritability or genome-wide association studies. The scope of heritability and genome-wide association studies should be expanded to include traits and breeds that have received little or no attention. It is also worth revisiting genetic diversity studies using genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism markers. Although there was no report of genomic selection in Turkish sheep to date, genomics could contribute to overcoming the difficulties of implementing traditional pedigree-based breeding programs that require accurate pedigree recording. As indigenous sheep breeds are better adapted to the local environmental conditions, the proper use of breeding strategies will contribute to increased income, food security, and reduced environmental footprint in a sustainable manner.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fgene.2024.1308113/fullassociation analysisbreedinggenomic selectionsmall ruminantsheep |
| spellingShingle | Kenan Burak Aydin Ye Bi Luiz F. Brito Zafer Ulutaş Gota Morota Gota Morota Review of sheep breeding and genetic research in Türkiye Frontiers in Genetics association analysis breeding genomic selection small ruminant sheep |
| title | Review of sheep breeding and genetic research in Türkiye |
| title_full | Review of sheep breeding and genetic research in Türkiye |
| title_fullStr | Review of sheep breeding and genetic research in Türkiye |
| title_full_unstemmed | Review of sheep breeding and genetic research in Türkiye |
| title_short | Review of sheep breeding and genetic research in Türkiye |
| title_sort | review of sheep breeding and genetic research in turkiye |
| topic | association analysis breeding genomic selection small ruminant sheep |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fgene.2024.1308113/full |
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