Life Sciences & Biotechnology
Title : | Unravelling Immunocompetence Status and Genetic Diversity in MHC region of Multifarious Endangered Chegu Goat of Temperate Himalayan Region |
Area of research : | Life Sciences & Biotechnology |
Focus area : | Veterinary Science, Immunology |
Principal Investigator : | Dr. Rajesh Kumar, Ch. Sarwan Kumar Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Palampur, Himachal Pradesh |
Timeline Start Year : | 2023 |
Timeline End Year : | 2026 |
Contact info : | rajesh8ivri@gmail.com |
Details
Executive Summary : | The Chegu is a pashmina bearing Goat distributed in mountainous and cold arid region of northern Himalayas, 12000 feet above mean sea level areas, where it acts as lifeline for people by providing quality meat, a valuable textile fibre-pashmina, manure, hide, skin, and milk to some extent. Beside this all, Chegu goats also help in dispersal of seeds of endangered plant species and maintain soil fertility by manuring high altitude area, thus shaping the biodiversity of plant species and protecting high altitude eco-system. The important characteristics of Chegu goats include adaptation to high altitude topography, harsh cold climate, tough mountainous migration, survival on scarce forages, good reproductive fitness and high disease resistance in the native ago-climatic conditions of the region. Inspite of possessing such unique features, the number of Chegu goats is showing declining trend. The National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources has put the Chegu goat breed on ‘endangered species list’. Hence there is dire need to introduce planned breeding strategy for conservation of Chegu goat. The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is the genetic foundation for mammals’ ability to defend against microbial pathogens. The major role of MHC gene products is the recognition of foreign peptides and their presentation to specialist immune cells in order to initiate an immune response. To fight diseases more efficiently and successfully, a higher allelic diversity at MHC loci is expected, so that the products of MHC genes confirm upon the individuals carrying them ability to bind and present a broader range of pathogenic peptides. Analysis of microsatellite data revealed that Chegu goat population has undergone genetic bottleneck in the past which has led to reduction in its effective population size and substantially depleted genetic variability. The major histocompatibility genes have been extensively characterized in sheep and cattle. Whereas, as far as studies on goats are concerned, there are a very few caprine DR and DQ sequences in GenBank. Recent studies indicate that due to genetic drift and population fluctuation, small populations are prone to losing functional MHC alleles. Therefore, a thorough understanding of the Chegu MHC region will provide important theoretical guidance for the protection of this endangered species. Hence, basic objectives of this study will be to assess immune competence status and MHC diversity in Chegu goat. Evidences support that an ancient chromosome inversion in the MHC region of the last common ancestor of ruminants have contributed to the evolutionary success of current ruminants on our planet. This fact reiterates the importance of MHC region diversity in evolution and long-term survivability of a species. Thus, unravelling immune competence status and MHC diversity will help in planning long term conservation of this unique species. |
Co-PI: | Dr. Sidharath Dev, Ch. Sarwan Kumar Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Palampur, Himachal Pradesh-176062, Dr. Varun Sankhyan, Ch. Sarwan Kumar Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Palampur, Himachal Pradesh-176062 |
Total Budget (INR): | 48,22,278 |
Organizations involved