Aurangabad (Maharashtra): Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University (BAMU) Department of Zoology has started a project to do genome analysis of native cattle and goat breeds. in order to know their characteristics.
A university official said on Thursday that the project has been taken up by the divisional commissioner’s office in Aurangabad, for which an amount of Rs 1.69 crore has been approved for four years. “Under this project, indigenous breeds of red Kandhari cow, Deoni bull and Osmanabadi goat will be studied. This will help in identifying their basic features and ultimately saving them.”
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Dr. Gulab Khedkar, Head of Department of Zoology said, “The farmers of the area get financial assistance from red Kandhari cow, Osmanabadi goat and Deoni bull. Red Kandhari cows and Deoni bulls have a history of about 650 years and 250 years respectively. However, over time, the basic characteristics of these breeds have changed. We can see that there has been a change in the milking capacity etc. of these cows.”
“As part of the project, we will collect their samples for genome analysis,” he said. After studying them, we will be able to save the native breeds of Marathwada region.” He informed that the Vice Chancellor of BAMU, Dr. Pramod Yeole and Dr. Ashok Dhawan of Vasantrao Nayak Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth (VNMKV) Parbhani have assured help in the project.