Genetic gain & Inbreeding

Integrating Genomics into Reintroduction and Supplementation Strategies

---

Abstract

Genetic diversity is the foundation of evolutionary resilience, long-term viability, and successful breeding - principles equally relevant to wildlife conservation and livestock improvement. Our work aims to evaluate how whole-genome data can be used to inform reintroduction and supplementation strategies by disentangling recent and historical inbreeding and estimating genetic load. Using whole-genome resequencing data from managed and wild populations, we assessed diversity levels, analysed genomic inbreeding coefficients based on runs of homozygosity (ROH), and examined the distribution of putatively deleterious alleles. By comparing multiple study systems - including wild boar, European bison, pelicans, and endangered species such as red pandas, Asian elephants, deer, and iguanas - substantial variation was found in the extent and genomic distribution of ROH, reflecting differences in demographic history and management practices. Populations with recent bottlenecks or intensive management showed elevated levels of long ROH and higher homozygosity for predicted deleterious alleles, whereas populations with larger or more connected histories retained greater heterozygosity despite similar census sizes. Simulation analyses demonstrated that supplementation strategies based solely on minimizing genome-wide inbreeding can be suboptimal, and that incorporating information on deleterious alleles and ROH location can more effectively reduce genetic load while maintaining adaptive potential. Comparisons with livestock populations revealed parallel patterns, in which historical selection has produced localized increases in homozygosity and shaped the distribution of harmful mutations. Together, these results show that genomics-informed management enables more targeted founder selection, sourcing decisions, and long-term planning, while highlighting the risks of both unrecognized inbreeding and outbreeding depression. I discuss emerging practices and remaining uncertainties in applying genomics to real-world cases, emphasizing how conservation and livestock genomics can jointly advance strategies for sustaining healthy, resilient populations.

Keywords: 2026

How to Cite:

Bosse, M., (2026) “Integrating Genomics into Reintroduction and Supplementation Strategies”, World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production Digital Archive 2026(1): 2286449. doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/wcgalp.24010

Rights: 1