Richard Crooijmans receives 2024 Illumina Agricultural Greater Good Initiative grant

The aim of the OPTIBOV project is to improve production and survival of traditional/indigenous breeds adapted to the local environments in Africa, and
thereby secure the future of these traditional/indigenous local breeds.

Scientists (from WUR and other research institutions that are part of the OPTIBOV consortium) have collected blood, milk, faeces, and nasal swabs samples for DNA and RNA analysis of 26 local cattle breeds (640 individuals) from 6 countries: Finland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Egypt, Uganda, and South Africa. In addition, 5 commercial animals (Holstein Friesian) per country were added as reference. They also collected additional information such as the quality and quantity of the animals’ diets, their health status, and the temperature of the animals and their surroundings.

Reading the secrets of environmental adaptation in the genome

The scientists have already begun sequencing the data, and with the support of the Illumina grant the consortium hopes to enlist additional PhD students to analyse it. Beyond the animals’ genomes, they also intend to study other elements captured in the samples: the composition of the animals’ gut and airway microbiomes, gene expression profiles and methylation status. This should paint a clearer picture of what’s contributing to their overall resilience.

Ultimately, OPTIBOV will produce a metadata analysis to find adaptation biomarkers. These markers will help smallholder farmers to select the optimal animals suitable for the ecosystem they have to live in and meanwhile improving their productive qualities.

Crooijmans: “Selective breeding for more resilient animals in a specific ecosystem is a long-term investment, but the more we know what biomarkers we are looking for and the better we understand the impact of genetic changes, the more successful that investment will be. We have to be realistic to farmers that this is not something we can solve next year, but if we have this information, we can move forward in applying the knowledge.”

This text was drafted based on a news item that appeared on illumina.com on July 29, 2024. Read the full news item here: Searching for unique biomarkers that make local cattle breeds more resilient