It has been consistently observed that indigenous poultry breeds in Africa tend to be more resilient to disease and environmental stresses such as high temperatures, compared to Western commercial breeds. However these tropically adapted poultry breeds show lower production traits, for example growth and egg laying.
CTLGH researchers and collaborators have established the largest tropical poultry genomic resource in the world, through the generation of over 580 full genomes representing 60 different indigenous African poultry populations. Robust data analysis strategies have now begun to help identify key regions, genes and variants within the genomes to underpin tropical adaptation, resilience and productivity.
Research at the interphase of poultry genetics, nutrition and health are being conducted at facilities in the UK and Ethiopia in order to identify the main constraints to poultry productivity
