Genetic Improvement in Dromedary Camels: Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract, Frontiers in Genetics, 2019 March

Adaptation to a hotter climate is vital for future livestock as heat stress can extremely reduce their productivity, health, and fertility (Hayes et al., 2013). Camels have developed, through millennia, the ability to produce quality meat, milk, and fiber in some of the hottest and most hostile environments in the globe. According to the FAO live animals statistics, the worldwide camel population is ~35 million heads (FAO, 2019), most of which are in Somalia, Sudan, Niger, Kenya, Chad, Ethiopia, Mali, Mauritania, and Pakistan. Moreover, partly due to climatic changes, areas of camel rearing are expanding, especially in Africa (Faye et al., 2012). Among the large camelids (dromedary and Bactrian), dromedary camels compose about 95% of the population (Bornstein and Younan, 2013). Due to their unique physiology and in light of the current climate change impacts on ecosystems, camels are poised to be an excellent candidate species for production (Hoffmann, 2010). This is specifically true in regions where agro-pastoralism is being replaced by pastoralism due to climate change (Bornstein and Younan, 2013). However, to harness their potential, an improved understanding of the genetics underlying their unique biology is needed.