Mumbai, Mar 04: In an unique endeavour, the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) here has launched an initiative to speed up the genetic improvement of buffaloes.
This was done, recognising that buffalo breeding and production is an important source of sustainable livelihood to marginal farmers and landless labourers especially women in rural areas, a statement issued by the NDDB yesterday said.
As part of it, NDDB has signed an MoU with the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad to evolve genetic markets for better selection of bulls and bull mothers for breeding purposes.
The 'buffalo genomics project, as it would be called, is expected to develop new tools to achieve faster genetic improvement in buffaloes. The project would derive substantial synergy from the pooling of expertise available in the area between CCMB and NDDB.
The first phase of the project would last a year and will focus on identifying at least 500 DNA markers that are polymorphic in buffaloes, using at least 1000 known DNA markers polymorphic in cattle, the statement added.
The second phase will prepare a linkage map in buffaloes and would take about one and a half years. Thereafter, the third phase would concentrate on establishing the relationship between markers and economically important traits.
Data collected from NDDB's field progeny testing programmes would be extensively used for this purpose. The project is estimated to cost Rs 430 lakh and would be funded by NDDB.
India produces approximately 45 million tonnes of buffalo milk annually. While buffaloes account for just about 38 per cent of the total bovine population, they contribute to more than 52 per cent of India's total milk production.
Buffaloes are an important livestock resource and they enable millions of rural people to earn significant income from the business of milk production, meat and hides, the statement further said.
Genome biology research has been mainly confined to the developed world and buffalo is not of much economic importance to these countries. Therefore, the initiative taken by NDDB and CCMB to develop new tools for genetic improvement of buffaloes assumes significance.
Bureau Report
