Sheep research projects

SMARTER Small Ruminants breeding for Efficiency and Resilience

Small ruminants, sheep and goats, generally graze less-favoured agricultural areas that are not suitable for crops or grazing by other species. It is therefore important to select robust small ruminants adapted to this environment. The aim of the Smarter project is to identify biomarkers and genetic markers for selecting resilience (the ability to maintain or recover initial levels of performance after stress) and feed efficiency (quantity of feed per unit produced) in small ruminants.

More specifically, Smarter aims to improve the understanding, phenotyping and selection of resilience and efficiency in sheep and goats through three approaches: 1) the definition and validation of new phenotypic and genetic traits linked to resilience and efficiency, 2) the improvement and development of new genomic solutions and tools relevant to data structure and population size, and 3) the establishment of new breeding and selection strategies taking account of resilience and efficiency characteristics.

The experimental work carried out at P3R as part of Smarter is the phenotyping of sheep RFI (feed efficiency) and SGI (resistance to parasitism) divergent lines and goat Longévité divergent lines for feed efficiency on a concentrate-based diet and a forage-based diet.

This project was funded by the European Union's H2020 programme.

Grass2Gas

Sheep enteric fermentation accounts for 3% of global agricultural greenhouse gas emissions (FAOSTAT, 2016). Theoretically, improving sheep feed efficiency could reduce the level of greenhouse gas emissions from this type of farming by 1 to 3% a year, while improving farm profitability.

The Grass2Gas project has two aims: 1) to develop new protocols for the individual assessment of feed efficiency and water consumption by grazing sheep, and 2) to study the link between feed efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions.

As part of this project, P3R is using sheep RFI (Residual Feed Intake) divergent lines fed on a forage-based diet. These animals are phenotyped for methane emissions using GreenFeed® equipment, as well as for a number of physiological and body phenotypes (blood metabolites, daily body weight, body composition, rumen juice for microbiota, metabolite and lipid analyses). These individuals are also genotyped in order to study the genetic determinism of the phenotypes collected.

This project was funded by the European Union's H2020 programme.

DISPERSAL

In temperate ecosystems, wild and domestic ungulates are involved in various processes, such as herbivory and zoochory. They shape landscapes and the associated biotic communities. Sheep pastoralism is an ancient form of extensive farming of groups of herbivores, known for maintaining diverse plant communities. Animal transhumance is also associated with large-scale migrations and long-distance dispersal events for seeds. On smaller geographical scales, rotational sheep farming improves the connectivity of grassland plants.

Many of these ungulates are gregarious. Individuals may move together, cooperate during feeding phases to maximise their chances of survival, and interact during grooming, play or conflict sequences. Although numerous studies have been carried out on the ecology of wild and domestic ungulates, the consequences of this social life on their effectiveness as vectors for plant dispersal remain little explored and unknown.

The aim of this study is to understand how certain characteristics of group life, acting on the survival, reproduction and movements of individuals, affect the efficiency of zoochore dispersal within ecosystems. The aim is to determine how group composition and size influence different phases of endo and epizoochore dispersal in sheep models.

This project was funded by the INRAE - Biosefair Meta-Programme.

MUES line

P3R studied the genetic determinism of natural wool shedding in sheep, as an alternative to shearing. To do this, a MUES line was created by crossing the Romane breed with the Black Belly Martinik breed, which sheds wool naturally. The aim was to introgress moulting genes into Romane ewes. The phenotypes collected were the measurement of moult areas (photos and sketches) and skin biopsies taken in areas where wool persists and where it falls out.

SOBRIETE project

The SOBRIETE (Systèmes Ovins Bas intrants, RésIlients et Economiquement soutenables) project, part of the PEI (European Partnership for Innovation) network, aims to study the performance of an agro-ecological low-input sheep production system based on mixed farming. The experiment involves 110 ewes of the Berrichonne de l'Indre breed and 110 Romanes ewes. The main performances studied are the choice of breed, parasitism management, changes in crop rotation and the nutritional value of intercropping. 

The project was funded by the FEADER (80%) and the Centre Val de Loire region (20%).