Selection and Breeding of Livestock for Climate Resilience: A Review

Abstract

Increasing climatic variability poses a major threat to sustainable livestock production through rising temperatures, heat waves, drought, water scarcity, extreme weather events, and changing disease and parasite patterns. These stresses adversely affect animal health, growth, production, reproduction, feed availability, and survival. Climate-resilient livestock can maintain productivity, health, reproductive performance, and survival under environmental stress through traits such as heat and drought tolerance, disease and parasite resistance, feed efficiency, and water-use efficiency. Indigenous breeds are valuable genetic resources because of their adaptation to harsh environments and their ability to utilize poor-quality feed and withstand climatic and disease challenges. Genetic selection provides a sustainable approach to climate adaptation, with conventional methods such as phenotypic, pedigree, and progeny selection complemented by marker-assisted selection, genomic selection, GWAS, and precision livestock breeding. Candidate genes such as SLICK, HSP70, HSP90, and HSF1 contribute to thermotolerance and heat-stress responses. However, breeding for climate resilience is challenged by low heritability, difficulty in phenotyping, genotype × environment interactions, limited genomic information, high technological costs, loss of genetic diversity, and inadequate infrastructure. Integrating indigenous genetic resources with conventional and advanced genomic approaches can accelerate the development of climate-smart livestock capable of maintaining productivity, health, welfare, and resource-use efficiency under changing climatic conditions, thereby improving sustainability, profitability, and food security. Keywords: Climate-resilient livestock; Heat stress; Genetic selection; Indigenous breeds; Genomic selection; Climate-smart breeding.