Buffalo Genome Projects: Current Situation and Future Perspective in Improving Breeding Programs

Abstract: Buffaloes are farm animals that contribute to food security by providing high quality meat and milk. They can better tolerate the adverse effects of global climate change on their meat and milk production. Despite their advantages, buffaloes are heavily neglected animals with fewer studies compared to other farm animals, hence, the real potential of buffaloes has never been realized. The complete genome sequencing projects of buffaloes are essential to better understanding the buffalos biology and production since they allow scientists to identify important genes and understand how the gene networks interact to determine the critical features of buffaloes. The genome projects are also valuable for gaining better knowledge of growth, development, maintenance, and determining factors associated with increased meat and milk production. Furthermore, having access to a complete genome of high quality and comprehensive annotations provides a powerful tool in breeding programs. The current review surveyed the publicly available buffalo genome projects and studied the impact of incorporating genomic selection into the buffalo breeding program. Our survey of the publicly available buffalo genome projects showed the promise of genomic selection in developing water buffalo science and technology for food security on a global scale.