Innovative genomic characterisation for better evaluation of genetic collections

WP4 will develop comprehensive genome information for a more precise and meaningful evaluation of animal genetic resources, which will be particularly novel for local or non-commercial rare breeds. It will elucidate available genetic variability in genetic collections relative to in situ populations on the breed and species levels, decipher its meaning in terms of functionality and demography, and use it as a leverage for further characterisation. The rationale of WP4 is that a comprehensive, species-wide integration of data resources allows more precise evaluation of local or endangered breeds. Characterisation will be performed with dense SNP chips and sequencing technology in order to identify current gaps in diversity of genetic collections.

WP4 will result in:

• Inventory of available data, identification and prioritisation of gaps in ex-situ collections, in connection with WP2 task for mapping of collections, thus complementing available data on breeding populations
• New genomic data on individuals of strategic importance for breeding programmes
• Existing collections genotyped for recently discovered mutations in order to add value to these collections
• Bioinformatics methods to use and integrate new information on a transnational level (whole genome data)
• Landscape genetic analysis for local European breeds primarily focusing on cattle
• Data sharing with other major research initiatives in livestock genomics, utilising the EMBL-EBI European Variation Archive (EVA) to allow evaluating genetic resources in a species-wide variation context.
• A standard multi-species chip for genomic assessment of collections