Conservation and Selection of Genes Related to Environmental Adaptation in Native Small Ruminant Breeds: A Review

Environmental stressors have, over generations, influenced the morphology, anatomy, behaviour, physiology, and genetic structure of small ruminants. The widespread dispersal ruminants vast geographical areas occurred along with human migration, thereby promoting adaptative process to different environmental conditions mainly through natural selection. Ongoing global warming prompted scientific efforts deepen knowledge understanding adaptation traits in Compared other ruminants, sheep goats seem have a better ability stressors, as evident by their presence across geographic on level. Adaptation specific environment leads variations precise genomic regions, allowing for identification selection animals high capacity stressors. Rapid development sequencing technologies, together bioinformatics tools, make it possible analyse regions related adaptation. Hence, aims this review were (i) outline main steps evolution goat species, (ii) summarise candidate genes adaptation, (iii) evaluate both conservation possibilities these native ruminant breeds future challenges face warming.