The risk status, signatures of adaptation, and environmental suitability of village-based indigenous chickens from certain regions of Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal provinces of South Africa.

Indigenous chickens are an important Farm Animal Genetic Resource (FAnGR) in South Africa as they alleviate poverty and are a source of protein. Climate change and market demand for high-performing exotic breeds threaten and undermine locally adapted village chickens. The current study explored the risk status and signatures of adaptation of village-based indigenous chickens from two provinces and mapped their environmental suitability across the country.

South African indigenous chickens' genetic diversity, and the adoption of ecological niche modelling and landscape genomics as strategic conservation techniques.

Selection pressures found in the prevailing production environments have shaped the genetic structure of indigenous chickens we see today. Indigenous chickens, raised in villages, provide essential genetic resources and income for poverty alleviation by providing affordable protein. However, they are threatened by predators, emerging diseases, and market demand for ideal breeds and fast production which causes loss of their valuable traits.

Identification of Signatures of Positive Selection That Have Shaped the Genomic Landscape of South African Pig Populations.

South Africa boasts a diverse range of pig populations, encompassing intensively raised commercial breeds, as well as indigenous and village pigs reared under low-input production systems. The aim of this study was to investigate how natural and artificial selection have shaped the genomic landscape of South African pig populations sampled from different genetic backgrounds and production systems. For this purpose, the integrated haplotype score (iHS), as well as cross population extended haplotype homozygosity (XP-EHH) and Lewontin and Krakauer's extension of the statistic based on haplotype information (HapFLK) were utilised.

Assessment of Genetic Diversity and Conservation in South African Indigenous Goat Ecotypes: A Review.

Goats were amongst the first livestock to be domesticated more than 10,000 years ago for their meat, milk, skin, and fiber. They were introduced to Southern Africa by migrating nations from Central Africa to the south. Due to local adaptation to the different agro-ecological zones and selection, indigenous goats are identified as ecotypes within the indigenous veld goat breed.

Conservation status and historical relatedness of South African communal indigenous goat populations using a genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphism marker.

Indigenous goats form the majority of populations in smallholder, low input, low output production systems and are considered an important genetic resource due to their adaptability to different production environments and support of communal farming. Effective population size ( ), inbreeding levels, and the runs of homozygosity (ROHs) are effective tools for exploring the genetic diversity and understanding the demographic history in efforts to support breeding strategies to use and conserve genetic resources. Across populations, the current of Gauteng was the lowest at 371 animals, while the historical across populations suggests that the ancestor has decreased by 53.