Genome and Rumen Characterization of Native Portuguese Domestic Sheep (GERUOVI)

Sheep is one of the most important species in the Portuguese livestock sector. Its importance to the Portuguese agriculture is demonstrated by the large number of local sheep breeds (15 officially recognized), which were the major contributors of the 18 tons of lamb and 700000 hL of milk, produced in 2015.

The main aims of the present study are to estimate the proportion of variation that only exists in our ovine native breeds, identify the local resources and reveal microbiome composition. We will identify regions of the genome that for its singularity can be used for meat and milk traceability tests as well as to assist breeding. For achieve these goals we will apply RAD Seq and metagenomics. We also will perform association studies among phenotype, genotype, rumen composition, productivity and geographic environment to detect traits influencing animal efficiency. Our results will have global implications, extending from applied animal production to climatology or to conservation.

Dates: 01 jun 2018 – 31 may 2022 

Total funding: 239 737,17 €
FEDER support: 203 776,59€
National Funding: 35 960,58€