Abstract
Landraces and indigenous breeds are either animal or plant species developed at a specific location through natural and artificial selection processes over a long period. Due to the changing environment and mixing up with other genotypes, they exhibit an evolving trend. Both landraces and indigenous breeds represent highly resilient gene pools preserving unique features suitable for the specific conditions of their locality, including climate, pests, infections, and traditional practices. Extensive use of pure lines and hybrids with high yield and better quality derived from a small germplasm pool resulted in the loss of potential traits, reducing genetic variability nowadays. To cope with climate change and satisfy the demands of the current scenario, researchers and breeders are continually exploring new sources of genetic diversity.
Conservation of the excellent gene repositories preserved in the landraces and indigenous breeds is the need of the hour in the unpredictable climatic conditions of the world. In situ conservation is a dynamic strategy that allows gradual evolution under an ever-changing scenario. Furthermore, management skills and knowledge linked with these traditional genetic resources are also protected in a co-evolutionary form. Identification, characterization, assessment, documentation, and conservation are essential aspects of preservation. Integrating in situ conservation with ex situ genotyping and phenotyping would help identify the genetic resources to be preserved. Live species ex situ programmes and cryopreservation of genetic materials could be adopted to restore unique genomes. Preservation of genetic resources is crucial for the breeds and races on the verge of extinction to ensure their existence for future generations.
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Mathew, E., Mathew, L. (2023). Conservation of Landraces and Indigenous Breeds: An Investment for the Future. In: Sukumaran, S.T., T R, K. (eds) Conservation and Sustainable Utilization of Bioresources. Sustainable Development and Biodiversity, vol 30. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5841-0_12
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