Within the animal pillar, a recent study published in the journal GSE highlights that many local breeds of French chickens constitute an important reservoir of neutral and adaptive diversity. They are generally free-range and territory-associated, and thus potentially adapted to a wide range of environmental conditions, which may be useful for coping with global warming and making the agro-ecological transition.

Genetic diversity is the genetic variability between individuals in the same population or between populations. In the case of livestock, breeds are often equated with populations, and the diversity they contain is essential for their evolution and adaptation. However, breeding is about selecting the best individuals and therefore does not maintain the full diversity of animals. However, it is possible to freeze semen from bulls to preserve it and potentially use it later.

In a recent special issue article in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Plant Pillar scientists demonstrated how to sustainably improve genetic gain in crop plants using relay populations and genetic diversity management.

In a context of renewed interest in the soybean species, both in terms of scientific issues and innovation, the conservation of soybean genetic resources is important. These resources have been conserved for almost two decades, thanks to the commitment of the UMR AGAP Institut . Today, the 1,300 genotypes are entrusted to the CRB housed at LIPME, and the collection is supplemented by research accessions resulting from work at IRHS.

Almost all the vanilla sold worldwide comes from a single species: Vanilla planifolia. The limited genetic variability of cultivated vanilla makes the sector particularly vulnerable to climate and health risks. In publishing the sequence for 83% of the Vanilla planifolia genome, a research consortium coordinated by CIRAD Réunion has paved the way for more effectively targeted, faster creation of new varieties.