Coupling collections

Connecting semen and genomic biobanks will add value to both resources by the advantage of characterizing the genetics of preserved semen for breeding practices and of the availability of DNA from important ancestors.

The coupling between LABOGENA blood or DNA collections and the national cryobank is currently very high (above 95%) for cattle and horses, high for small ruminants (about 65%) and low for pigs (about 35%) and very low for poultry. Identified gaps will justify additional sampling. In pigs for instance, a flow of 8500 samples is expected yearly, under the supervision of IFIP. For fishes, the flow is estimated to be 2675 samples under the supervision of SYSAAF. Cani-DNA and cryobanks for dogs (CERREC, CERCA, CIAC) will better coordinate their sampling strategies, thus bringing an added value of genomic results (genetic tests performed by ANTAGENE) to the stored frozen semen. Blood samples for DNA extraction will be collected for all donor animals entering the cryobank, in order to increase the coupling of collections between members of the CRB-Anim network. In species where semen collection is easy, a few straws will be used for DNA extraction instead of blood. DNA samples will be stored at LABOGENA for commercial livestock populations and at GADIE for experimental populations.

All partners are involved in this task, in cooperation with breeding organisations.