Traditional and up-to-date genomic insights into domestic animal diversity

Domesticated animals (including poultry) represent both an integral part of global, regional, and small-scale agricultural production, as well as a common element of human everyday life and culture. They also constitute a significant part of the world's biodiversity, on which humanity's supply of food and other animal products depends. In the modern world, there is a high risk of loss of the diversity of farm animals, which can entail a narrowing of resources for production of food and other items of daily life. Furthermore, the flexibility of future animal breeding to adapt livestock populations to climate change and changing consumer demands requires genetic diversity. Efforts must continue to conserve biodiversity and prevent decline in the number of available animal breeds and size of existing populations. To have all the necessary information about the conserved breeds and populations, it is necessary to assess them as comprehensively as possible in terms of phenotypic characteristics, genetic diversity, and genomic features associated with performance of animals, their adaptation to local conditions, and resistance to diseases.

Introducing this Research Topic, we aim to present a series of research articles and reviews that would elucidate traditional approaches, coupled with genotypic/genomic data, and recent advances in conservation and investigation of domestic animal diversity. To contribute to this Research Topic, we invite researchers and breeders who have in their instrumental arsenal traditional techniques and approaches in combination with state-of-the-art genetic and genomic methods that enable the evaluation of breeds by comprehensive phenotyping and studying effectively genetic diversity of breeds using suitable polymorphic markers or genome-wide SNP genotyping. Herewith, we see a lot of benefit of papers combining or comparing traditional and genomic measures and will encourage papers preferably with genotype/genomic content. We also aim to collect papers that will provide insights into how to compose and compare "portraits" of breeds at the level of whole genomic sequences and transcriptomes, as well as to find candidate genes responsible for important traits in individual breeds. Based on genomic information, one can clarify the history of domestication and breed formation and identify genomic regions with signatures of artificial selection. Comprehensive breed assessment provides tools for the development of breed conservation strategies, their sustainable use, and marker assisted breeding.

Within the scope of this Research Topic, we welcome papers, including Original Research articles, Brief Research Reports, and Reviews, that would address (but would not be limited to) the following issues:

• Traditional approaches in breeding and conservation of breeds in domestic animals (including poultry species);

• Description of biodiversity and conservation of native breeds;

• Characterization of breeds in terms of phenotypic traits and their genetic assessment using genetic markers;

• Implementation of recent advances in genetics and genomics such as SNP genotyping, whole genome and transcriptome sequencing, and search for breed-specific candidate genes;

• Approaches that consider functional properties of polymorphisms in the assessment of genetic distances and genetic resources

• Elucidation of domestication and demographic history, genomic footprints of selection related to adaptation, disease resistance and other characteristics of breeds;

• Strategies and prospects for breed conservation, sustainable utilization and marker assisted breeding.