Using genomics to characterize and maintain genetic variation in heritage chicken breeds

在过去的50年里，由于育种者严格的性状选择 **，家禽生产的生产率急剧增加。所得的现代菌株非常适合在商业条件下生存，其中 ** 管理（例如，疫苗接种、受控环境、抗生素、营养）在生产效率中起着很大的作用。与此同时，消费者对生产实践越来越感兴趣 **（例如，包括抗菌素耐药性）和维持自己后院的鸡群。这种“旧的是新的”的后院鸡群的做法引起的一个问题是，商业菌株已经发展到繁荣 ** 在商业环境下，可能有动物福利，食品安全和环境可持续性 ** 在这些环境中的关注。鸡的传统品系（例如，鸡的品种保持，在加拿大家禽业的发展中发挥了很大的作用。“稀有家禽保护计划”** 始于1965年，涉及六个品种的鸡。这些种群以及另外两个传统 ** 品种被安置在阿尔伯塔大学的家禽研究中心。该项目将利用基因组学来描述中华人民共和国传统菌株的遗传变异特征，并制定育种策略，以优化遗传多样性的维持和传统菌株的最佳遗传贡献。在这样做的过程中，该项目将协助加拿大家禽业推行进步的生产做法，同时确保 ** 农民有能力利用国内和国际的增值市场。

In the past 50 years, poultry production has seen a steep increase in productivity due to rigorous trait selection**by breeders. The resulting modern strains are well suited to survive under commercial conditions where**management (e.g., vaccination, controlled environment, antibiotics, nutrition) plays a large role in the**efficiencies of production. At the same time, consumers are increasingly interested in production practices**(e.g., including antimicrobial resistance) and in maintaining their own backyard flocks. A concern that arises**with this 'old is new' again practice of backyard flocks is that commercial strains have been developed to thrive**under commercial settings, and there may be animal welfare, food safety, and environmental sustainability**concerns in these environments. Heritage lines of chickens (e.g., breeds of chickens maintained, unselected)**played a large role in the evolution of the poultry industry in Canada. The "Rare Poultry Conservancy Program"**was started in 1965 involving six breeds of chickens. These populations as well as two additional heritage**breeds are housed at the Poultry Research Centre at the University of Alberta. This project will use genomics to**characterize the genetic variation of the heritage strains at the PRC and develop a breeding strategy to optimize**the maintenance of genetic diversity and optimal genetic contributions in the heritage strains. In doing so, this**project will assist the Canadian poultry industry in pursuing progressive production practices while ensuring**that farmers have the capacity to capitalize on value-added markets, at home and internationally.