About

ClimGen uses ‘omics methods to build livestock resilience to climate change by identifying biomarkers to predict climate adaptation. Using meta-analysis, on-farm experiments, and simulation, this project develops modified breeding strategies to equip more rapidly livestock with the resilience to withstand the effects of climate change in the short, medium and long-term.

The objectives of ClimGen are to:

• Carry out a data-mining and gap filling exercise for identifying genomic targets of selection in cattle, sheep and goat populations that occur in challenging climates throughout Europe and in northern and central Africa.
• Carry out three case study experiments to find biomarkers of climate adaptation within the transcriptome and epigenome. These studies will analyse contrasting systems and seek to detect profile changes in sheeps and goats in contrasting thermal environments; in pigs under thermal stress with controlled temperature environments; and in red-legged partridges under immune and thermal stress.
• Use these data in an assessment of new strategies for breeding climate resilience into livestock populations using state-of-the-art simulations, assuming different approaches such as admixture and genomic selection, which will be compared with more traditional breeding methods in terms of their efficiency over short, medium and longer timescales.

Results

• A data-mining and gap filling exercise for identifying genomic targets of selection in livestock populations in challenging climates.
• New samples collected and genotyped from the Carpathian region.
• Three experiments are finding biomarkers of climate adaptation in the transcriptome and epigenome in sheep and goats in contrasting thermal environments; in pigs under thermal stress with controlled temperature environments; and in red-legged partridges under immune and thermal stress.
• New strategies testing for breeding climate resilience, using state-of-the-art simulations, assuming approaches and including admixture and genomic selection.