History of Science and Technology

Borodai Irina S.

Doctor of Historical Science, Professor

Ukraine`s membership in European Regional Focal Point for Animal Genetic Resources

One of the global problems is biodiversity preservation including gene pool of the farm animals. Animal husbandry development is accompanied by processes intensive using some commercial breeds that leads to reducing of populations of the aborigen and local breeds which have highly adaptive and resistant properties, constitutive durability, vitality, simplicity to feed, reproductive and maternal quality, long period of productive exploitation and so on.

Breeding of the commercial transboundary cattle breeds such as Holstein does not always lead to the expected results. The local breeds are dominated by transboundary ones in terms of their fertility, resistance to certain infectious diseases and adaptation to extreme environmental conditions. Therefore, the disappearance of the original breeds may become irreversible loss of the genes and irreparable damage for further breeding work. As is known, gene pool of the aborigen and local breeds successfully have used for creation of the new breeds and it is the only reserve of genes to correct possible threshold selection. The author suggests it is necessary to explore the most effective scientific approaches to biodiversity preservation have been proposed by some scientists in the XX century for development of modern strategy of evaluation, management and preservation of gene pool of the domesticated animals. The main attention was focused on highlighting of the scientific approaches which should be use in developing a modern strategy of domesticated animal gene pool preservation. The author used the special historical and scientific methods of research. Research methodology is based on using a systematic approach [3].

To support in situ and ex situ preservation and rational using of farm animal genetic resources the European Regional Focal Point for Animal Genetic Resources (ERFP) was established in 2001. The European Regional Focal Point for Animal Genetic Resources (ERFP) is the regional platform to support the in situ and ex situ conservation and sustainable use of animal genetic resources (AnGR) and to facilitate the implementation of FAO's Global Plan of Action for AnGR. Since 2001, ERFP facilitates the collaboration, coordination of work and exchange of information and experience between different European countries and governmental and non-governmental organization [5].

The ERFP objectives are: 1) to support the in situ and ex situ conservation and sustainable use of AnGR in European countries; 2) to facilitate the implementation of the Global Plan of Action for AnGR in Europe; 3) to assist and enhance the AnGR activities of NCs at the European level; 4) to develop and maintain regular contact and exchange of relevant information on AnGR horizontally between European NCs and EAAP and vertically with the Global Focal Point in Rome using existing structures; 5) to stimulate the funding and organisation of regional projects, research, workshops and national programmes for AnGR within the European Region; 5) to maintain an appropriate liaison with the European Commission, the FAO Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity and regional and international NGOs. For scientific aspects, it is supported by the European Association of Animal Production’s Working Group on Animal Genetic Resources (EAAP WG-AGR); 6) to stimulate and coordinate the maintenance and further development of national and regional AnGR databases and to encourage European information networking on AnGR [2].

The activities of the European Regional Focal Point for Animal Genetic Resources (ERFP) are carried out based upon a Multi-Year Programmer of Work (MYPOW). The current MYPOW has been agreed for the period 2015 – 2018 and specifies the following areas: 1) improvement of documentation of AnGR in Europe; 2) improvement of in situ conservation of AnGR in Europe; 3) improvement of ex situ conservation of AnGR in Europe; 4) support for international processes in the field of AnGR; 5) support to selected national processes; 6) exchange of information among European stakeholders [6].

Since 2009 Ukraine is a member of the European Regional Focal Point for Animal Genetic Resources at FAO. Nowadays White-Head and Gray Ukrainian, Lebedynska cattle breeds have almost disappeared in Ukraine. Simmental, Red Steppe and Brown Carpathian breeds have included in the category of local breeds

Twelve research institutes of National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine carry out scientific program "Preservation of biodiversity and research of the farm animal minority populations and its use in the breeding process". The Institute of Animal Breeding and Genetics (IABG) is main institution that coordinates its activities. Bank of Animal Gene Pool Resources of IABG has been recognized as a national treasure in 1986. Today the gene bank has 145.5 thousand semen doses of the bulls of 30 breeds, 1.5 thousand semen doses of boars of 3 breeds, 1.5 thousand semen doses of the roosters of 3 breeds, 60 cattle embryos of 2 breeds, 80 oocytes of pigs [4].

In the last decades Ukrainian scientists have developed organizational foundations of farm animal gene pool preservation; its basic principle is breed adaptation to the certain climatic zones. They have introduced the seven main organizational forms of the domesticated animal preservation including gene pool population, gene pool herd, relicted animal farm, collections’ nursery, farm of gene pool reserve, gene pool reproductor, bank of animal gene pool resources and other banks. They have initiated the development of the concept of creation and placement gene pool objects, its main link is bank of animal gene pool resources. Solving of problem of farm animal gene pool preservation should be based on a combination of the whole complex of factors: theoretical and methodical, organizational, economic and technological. IABG has developed a methodology for integrated assessment, management and long-term storage of gene pool resources [4].

The scientists of the institute have introduced methods of genetic and population monitoring of the gene pool herds and systems of regulation and optimization of the number of the gene pool populations through a combination of biotechnological and genetic technologies of cryopreservation of sperm, embryos, oocytes, primary germ cells and DNA, directed selection and creation of virtual cryopreserved gene pool herds. They have identified categories of the gene pool objects for storage and optimal size of deposit, developed requirements for genetic material of each gene pool object of the different species of farm animals, as well as standards of main parameters of the gene pool micropopulations for the some species [1].

The Ukrainian scientists F. Eisner, N. Kravchenko, M. Zubets, V. Burkat, I. Guzev, O. Chirkova, S. Voitenko and others made a particularly important contribution to solving the problem of preserving the gene pool of farm animals. They have developed anthropological, ecological, synergistic, cultural approaches for stabilization the number of the aborigen and local breeds of farm animals. Their scientific heritage is a theoretical and methodological basis of modern strategy of farm animal gene pool preservation.

Thus Ukraine is a member of the European Regional Focal Point for Animal Genetic Resources at FAO since 2009. The state scientific program "Preservation of biodiversity and research of the farm animal minority populations and its use in the breeding process" was developed by twelve research institutes of National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine. The Institute of Animal Breeding and Genetics (IABG) is main institution that coordinates its activities. The Ukrainian scientists have proved that the solution to the problem of farm animal gene pool preservation should be based on a combination of the whole complex of factors: theoretical and methodical, organizational, economic and technological. They have developed a methodology for integrated assessment, management and long-term storage of gene pool resourceshave developed organizational foundations of farm animal gene pool preservation; its basic principle is breed adaptation to the certain climatic zones. They have initiated the development of the concept of creation and placement gene pool objects, its main link is bank of animal gene pool resources. They have identified categories of the gene pool objects for storage and optimal size of deposit, developed requirements for genetic material of each gene pool object of the different species of farm animals, as well as standards of main parameters of the gene pool micropopulations for the some species.

Literatura

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5. Теоретико-методологічні та науково-організаційні засади становлення банку генетичних ресурсів сільськогосподарських тварин Інституту розведення і генетики тварин імені М.В.Зубця НААН / Бащенко М.І., Гладій М.В., Полупан Ю.П., Ковтун С.І., Бородай І.С. // Розведення і генетика тварин: міжвід. тем. наук. зб. – К., 2013. – Вип. 53. – С. 7–14.

6. The European Regional Focal Point for Animal Genetic Resources (ERFP) – https://www.rfp-europe.org/about-erfp/.