Chair’s Corner

As I sit to write these few lines there are many things I could focus on. However, it is my view that the most important issue facing Animal and Poultry Genetic Resources in Canada is the establishment of and putting into operation our very own Animal Genetic Resources (AGR) program on the Campus of the University of Saskatchewan under the auspices of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC).

The implementation of this program continues to move forward with implementation steps achieved on a number of fronts.

The first point is that the AGR is now under Environment Health and Biodiversity within AAFC. This is where all other programs of genetic biodiversity are located within AAFC. Dr. Ken Richards (AAFC) is responsible for the AGR program as well as all other genetic resource programs (plants, microbes, viruses, animals) within AAFC. The AGR program is now managed and being implemented by Dr. Richards, and Dr. Norman Rawlings and Dr. Sheila Schmutz from the University of Saskatchewan.

1. Laboratory space has been made available at the University of Saskatchewan.
2. The agreements (Memorandum of Understanding, lease agreement) between AAFC and the University of Saskatchewan are coming to fruition.
3. A number of major equipment purchases have been completed. Over $320K has so far been purchased and will be delivered before March 31, 2005. The most important piece includes a DNA sequencer.
4. Staffing by AAFC is moving forward with position approvals at both the scientist and technical level. Interviews for the first technical position are scheduled for the end of February.
5. The specific purposes and objectives of the program are beginning to take shape in a more concrete manner.

An upcoming phase of the implementation process will be a meeting of the steering committee to address the putting into effect the other aspects of the business plan. This will include the commitments made by universities, industry and the balance of the AAFC commitment.

Again, I thank AAFC and the University of Saskatchewan for their efforts in implementing the AGR program and in particular, I thank them for their accomplishments to date.

Roger Buckland
Chair

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

National Animal Germplasm Program
Foundation Chair Retires
Securing The Global Genetic Diversity In Livestock Species
The Domestic Animal Diversity Network
Board of Directors

NATIONAL ANIMAL GERMPLASM PROGRAM (NAGP)

The 9th Discover Conference on Food and Agriculture was held November 2-5, 2004 in Cheyenne, Wyoming. “Protecting and Managing Animal Genetic Resources for Future Generations: The Next Steps” was attended by approximately 80 United States, Canadian and European registrants from the livestock industry, universities and governments.

Sessions were held to explore: non-genetic issues impacting diversity (economic valuation of genetic resources, biosecurity, industry dynamics, and in-situ conservation); species committee actions (included updates on committee actions and the status of the germplasm collection); cryopreservation (focused upon issues that impede the collection of semen, embryos and other tissue types); and genetics (focused upon utilization of the collection for expanding our knowledge of livestock genomes and how the GRIN information system will have to be developed to accommodate the linkage between the collection, phenotypic data, and genomic databases.

Over Arching Recommendations

During the meeting there were species and cross species breakout sessions. From those sessions several over-arching themes emerged. In addition to the continued collection of germplasm and tissues, and included:

1. Develop targeted approaches to collecting germplasm by utilizing pedigree/clustering approaches and/or molecular genetic approaches;
2. Compare the collections genetic variability to the variation within in-situ populations;
3. Initiate collecting tissues other than semen, and where techniques are deficient develop effective approaches to do so;
4. Develop a comprehensive mechanism to address intellectual property issues;
5. Establish in-situ conservation efforts for selected populations;
6. Sample livestock breeds that are currently outside the U.S; and
7. Ensure that Animal-GRIN is developed in such a manner as to address the needs of the range of species and targeted users.

Collection Status

At the time of the conference the national collection contained:
-63 breeds of cattle, swine, sheep and goats
-43 chicken lines
-17 aquatic species
-samples from more than 2,500 different animals, and
-150,000 samples of semen, blood and embryos

More information on the conference and the NAGP activities can be obtained from their web site http://www.ars-grin.gov/nag/

FOUNDATION CHAIR RETIRES FROM MACDONALD COLLEGE

Roger Buckland, Chair of CFAGRF following a distinguished career serving Canadian agriculture has retired from McGill University (Macdonald Campus). Dr. Buckland came to McGill in 1971 following four years with AAFC, Agassiz, B.C. At McGill, serving in various capacities, he rose to the position of Dean, Faculty of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences and Vice Principal, McGill University (Macdonald Campus) from 1985 to 1995.

Special honours bestowed on Dr. Buckland include, the Poultry Science Association Research Award (1972) to Fellow of the Agricultural Institute of Canada. On behalf of the CFAGRF we congratulate Roger on his many contributions to agriculture in Canada and wish him well in his retirement. We are pleased that he will carry on in his capacity as Chair of CFAGRF.

SECURING THE GLOBAL GENETIC DIVERSITY IN
LIVESTOCK SPECIES

The worlds ex situ collections for major crop species such as wheat, rice, and maize contain several hundred thousand accessions, far in excess of anything imagined for major livestock species such as cattle, pigs, sheep, goat, and chicken. In the face of this disparity, one is led to ask how many “accessions” would be needed to adequately represent the diversity in a livestock species.
Unfortunately, the information to address this question in an objective way does not exist. Use of various genetic markers to derive measures of relatedness and genetic distance among accessions within ex situ plant collections was given high priority in the SoW-PGR REPORT (fao, 1998), but only modest progress has been made. Many studies to derive measures of genetic relationships among small group of breeds have been conducted, but most did not use large enough numbers of markers, large enough numbers of breeds, or adequate sampling of individuals within those breeds to provide definitive results. Pooling results from different studies conducted in different laboratories and with different sets of genetic markers is not possible, Indeed, given our current knowledge of plant and animal diversity, attempts to somehow determine what sort of sample from a livestock breed is somehow equivalent in terms of diversity to a typical plant accession is largely a fruitless exercise.

The World Watch List for Domestic Animal Diversity lists over 5,200 livestock breeds reported to FAO. An additional 704 breeds have already disappeared in pure form. However, careful reading of the Watch List suggests that this estimate of the number of livestock breeds may adequately reflect current information, but likely underestimates of the total number of global livestock breeds and the extent of their endangerment. In addition to the 1,300 breeds listed as critical or threatened, the status of an additional 1,163 breeds is recorded as “unknown”, and many of these breeds probably are also at risk. Reporting biases likewise clearly exist. Europe, with a land area of 10,517,000 km² and estimated populations of approximately 162 million cattle, 185 million sheep, and nearly 2 billion chickens, lists 482 breeds of cattle, 629 breeds of sheep, and 451 breeds of chicken. In contrast, Africa, with a land area of 30,259,000 km² and populations of approximately 175 million cattle, 127 million sheep, and 730 million chickens, reports 251 breeds of cattle, 148 breeds of sheep, and only 55 breeds of chicken. This discrepancy almost certainly does not reflect genuinely lower levels of genetic diversity in African livestock, but instead reflect more detailed reporting and a stronger tradition of breed development in Europe.

The considerable genetic diversity in livestock breeds raises questions about the numbers of breeds and samples within breeds that must included in ex situ collections to adequately capture the genetic diversity of a species. Preliminary results from many species now confirm that very few genetic markers are found in only a single breed. Even when large numbers of markers are screened, it is rare to find specific haplotypes that unambiguously define breed membership. We thus have a great deal to learn about the global distribution of livestock genetic diversity, and that knowledge is sorely needed to aid in the configuration of schemes for better management of AnGR.

(by Dr. David Notter, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in October 2004 for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations)

The Domestic Animal Diversity Network (DAD-Net)

The Domestic Animal Diversity Network (DAD-Net) is managed by the Animal Production and Health Division of FAO. The purpose of this electronic service is to provide an informal forum for the discussion of issues relevant to the management of animal genetic resources at national, regional and international levels.

After free registration, users have open access to the network and are invited to browse through the articles, publications and information the network offers. Users are encouraged to post messages on topics of interest related to the management of animal genetic resources, and are also invited to contribute articles or other information in English, French or Spanish dealing with the following subjects: characterization, conservation, utilization, breeding, data and information management, training and education, emergency planning and response, research and technology transfer, and any other subject they consider relevant to animal genetic resources. FAO will periodically contribute information and act as moderator. If you wish to become a member of the DAD-Net, please complete the form and send it to DAD-IS@fao.org

Name:
Family name:
Organization:
Department:
Postal address:
Phone: Fax:
E-mail address:
Main areas of interest:

For further information please contact:

Beate Scherf
Animal Production Officer - DAD-IS Moderator
Animal Genetic Resources Group
Animal Production Service
Animal Production and Health Division
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Viale delle Terme di Caracalla
00100 Rome / Italy

BOARD OF DIRECTORS
(March 1st, 2005)

Chair
Dr. Roger Buckland, Professor Emeritus, Department of Animal Science,McGill University,
Macdonald College, 21,111 Lakeshore Road, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Québec H9X 3V9
Tel. 450 451 2240 F 514-398-7964
E-mail roger.buckland@mcgill.ca
Address: 98 Chemin de L'Anse, Rigaud, QC. J0P 1P0, Canada

Honourary Chair
Dr. Donald McQueen Shaver, Suite 901, 20 Berkley Road, Cambridge, Ontario N1S 4S8
T 519-623-4920 F 519-621-0984

Vice-Chair
Dr. Peter Hunton, RR #4 West River Road, Cambridge, Ontario N1R 5S5
T 519-622-3714
E-mail phunton@sympatico.ca

Directors:
Dr. Kim Cheng, University of British Columbia, 2708 West 30th Avenue, Vancouver, British Columbia V6L 1Y9
T 604-822-2480 F 604-822-4400
E-mail kmtc@interchange.ubc.ca

Dr. Wilhelm ‘’Bill’’ Guenter, University of Manitoba, Department of Animal Science, Winnipeg, Manitoba
R3T 2N2
T 204-474-9334 F 204-474-7628
E-mail wguenter@cc.umanitoba.ca

Mr. Dick Huggard, 59 Shannon Drive, Truro, Nova Scotia B2N 3V7
T 902-895-5905 F 902-895-4460
E-mail rhuggard@sympatico.ca

Mr. Doug Blair, 3628-4th Street SW, Calgary, Alberta T2S 1Y2 T 403-287-9048 F 403-287-9356
E-mail dgblair@shaw.ca

Dr. Don Wilson, Director, Bayer Health Care, Animal Health Division, 77 Belfield Road, Toronto, Ontario M9W 1G6
T 416-248-0771 F 416-614-1058
E-mail don.wilson.b@bayer.com

Mr. Ted Lawrence, President, Rare Breeds Canada, 221 Clarence St., Ottawa, Ontario K1N 5P9
T 613-789-1081 E-mail ted@storm.ca

Mr. Mike Nowosad, Canadian 4-H Council, Central Experimental Farm, 930 Carling Avenue, Building 26, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0C6
T 613-234-4448 Ext. 22 F 613-234-1112
E-mail mnowosad@4-h-canada.ca

Dr. Pramod K. Mathur, Canadian Centre for Swine Improvement, Central Experimental Farm, Building 54, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0C6 T 613-233-8872 F 613-233-8903 E-mail pramod@ccsi.ca

Mr. Hans Vink, Dairy Farmers of Canada, R.R. 2, Norwood, Ontario K0L 2V0
T 705-696-2169 F 705-696-1427
E-mail vinkfarms@heydon.com

Dr. Ed Lister, Director Emeritus, 6929 Lakes Park Drive, Greeley, Ontario K4P 1M6
T 613-821-6068
E-mail elister@rogers.com

Dr. Jacques Chesnais, 20B Gervin St., Nepean, Ontario
K2G 0J8
T 613-226-3965 F 613-225-8261
E-mail jpchesnais@rogers.com

Dr. Steven Moore, Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutritional Studies, University of Alberta,
4-10 Agriculture Forestry Centre, Edmonton, Alberta
T6G 2P5
T 780-492-0169 F 780-492-4265
E-mail stephen.moore@afns.ualberta.ca

Mr. Jim Dalrymple, P.Ag. CAC - Executive Vice-President
P.O. Box 3027, Brighton, Ontario K0K 1H0
T 613-475-2701 F 613-475-3902
E-mail ded@reach.net

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