Abstract
Goats are one of the world’s oldest domesticated animals and the most widely distributed livestock around the world. China has enormous land suitable for goat production and its goat population was about 140 million in 2013, which makes China as the largest goat production country in terms of total output of cashmere, meat, and hides. In this chapter, we review the origin, evolution and genetic diversity of indigenous goat breeds present in China, and a brief introduction of some special indigenous goat breeds in the country is also given. China owns a great variety of indigenous goat genetic resources. Four mtDNA lineages A-D were found in Chinese goat breeds, supporting the multiple maternal origins of domestic goats, being the haplogroups A and B the dominant and distributed in nearly all breeds. There are more than 70 goat breeds in the country, including 58 indigenous breeds, seven improved breeds, and five introduced breeds. With the development of modern Chinese economy, trade and exchange of goats became more and more common. Some local breeds became threatened with extinction or have already disappeared before necessary conservation efforts could be performed. Therefore, it is imperative to carry out genetic monitoring, excavation, and evaluation of local goat resources.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Canon J, Garcia D, Garcia-Atance MA et al (2006) Geographical partitioning of goat diversity in Europe and the Middle East. Anim Genet 37:327–334
Chen SY, Su YH, Wu SF et al (2005) Mitochondrial diversity and phylogeographic structure of Chinese domestic goats. Mol Phylogenet Evol 37:804–814
Cheng P (1984) Livestock breeds of China. FAO animal production and health Paper 46, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy
Du L (2011) Animal genetic resources in china: sheep and Goats. China Agriculture Press, China, Beijing
Duan C, Xu J, Zhang Y et al (2017) Effects of melatonin implantation on cashmere growth, hormone concentrations and cashmere yield in cashmere-perennial-type Liaoning cashmere goats. Anim Prod Sci 57(1):60–64
Guo H, Cheng G, Li Y et al (2017) A screen for key genes and pathways involved in high-quality brush hair in the Yangtze River Delta White Goat. PLoS ONE 12(1):e0169820. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0169820
Jiang H, Han D, Guo D et al (2011) Characteristics of Liaoning cashmere goat. China J Herbiv 31:72–75
Jie W (2000) Study on meat quality of Tibetan goat. J Sichuan Grassland 2:50–53
Jie W, Yong W (1994) Studies on the growth and development and reproductive performance of Tibetan goat. J Southwest Univ (Nat Sci) 4:388–391
Jie W, Yong W, Ouyang Xi et al (1993) Study on Tibetan goat. Chinese J Anim Sci 1:11–14
Jin M, Hu J (2005) The breeding situation and development direction of Liaoning cashmere goat. Chinese J Anim Sci 41:54–56
Li MH, Li K, Zhao SH (2004) Diversity of Chinese indigenous goat breeds: a conservation perspective—a review. Asian Australas J Anim Sci 17:726–732
Liu RY, Yang GS, Lei CZ (2006) The genetic diversity of mtDNA D-loop and the origin of Chinese goats. Yi Chuan Xue Bao 33:420–428
Liu YP, Cao SX, Chen SY et al (2009) Genetic diversity of Chinese domestic goat based on the mitochondrial DNA sequence variation. J Anim Breed Genet 126:80–89
Longworth JW, Williamson GJ (1993) China’s pastoral region: sheep and wool, minority nationalities, rangeland degradation and sustainable development. CAB international, UK, Wallingford, England
Luikart G, Gielly L, Excoffier L et al (2001) Multiple maternal origins and weak phylogeographic structure in domestic goats. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 98:5927–5932
Ma Y-j (2013) Review and reflection of sheep and goat breeding in China. J Ani Sci Vet Med 5:26–28
MacHugh DE, Bradley DG (2001) Livestock genetic origins: goats buck the trend. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 98:5382–5384
Ma YH, Chen YC, Feng WQ, Wang DY (2002) Germplasm of Chinese domestic animals and their conservation. Rev China Agricult Sci Technol 4:37–41
Moutou F, Pastoret PP (2010) Geographical distribution of domestic animals: a historical perspective. Rev Sci Tech 29(95–102):87–94
Naderi S, Rezaei HR, Pompanon F et al (2008) The goat domestication process inferred from large-scale mitochondrial DNA analysis of wild and domestic individuals. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 105:17659–17664
Porter V, Alderson L, Hall SJ et al (2016) Mason’s World encyclopedia of livestock breeds and breeding, 2 volume pack. Cabi
Shi J-F, Wang Z-Y, Zhang H et al (2010) Reproductive traits and high-effective reproduction measures of Yangtze River Delta White goat. Hunan Agri Sci 19:122–124
Wei C, Lu J, Xu L et al (2014) Genetic structure of Chinese indigenous goats and the special geographical structure in the Southwest China as a geographic barrier driving the fragmentation of a large population. PLoS ONE 9:e94435. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0094435
Wu C, Li X, Han T et al (2012) Dietary pseudopurpurin improves bone geometry architecture and metabolism in red-bone Guishan goats. PLoS ONE 7:e37469. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0037469
Xu L, Liu C, Zhang L et al (2010) Genetic diversity in goat breeds based on microsatellite analysis. Chin J Biotech 26:588–594
Yao F (2004) Chinese caprine resource for fur skin. Mod Ani Hus 6:44–45
Zhao Y (2013) Sheep and goat farming in China. China Agriculture Press, Beijing, China
Zhao Y, Zhao R, Zhao Z et al (2014) Genetic diversity and molecular phylogeography of Chinese domestic goats by large-scale mitochondrial DNA analysis. Mol Biol Rep 41:3695–3704
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Yue, Yj. et al. (2017). Chinese Indigenous Goat Breeds. In: Simões, J., Gutiérrez, C. (eds) Sustainable Goat Production in Adverse Environments: Volume II. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71294-9_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71294-9_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-71293-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-71294-9
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)