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The topic of today's lecture is Introduction,
basics, history and present of livestock breeding.

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The lecture is part of Module 2: Conservation
and Sustainable Use of Animal Genetic Resources,

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that is a part of the ISAGREED project.

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This presentation was supported by Erasmus+
KA2 Cooperation Partnerships Grant "Innovation

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of the content and structure of study programmes
in the field of management of animal genetic

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and food resources using digitalization".

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As part of the lecture, we will first talk
about domestication, which was at the beginning

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of livestock breeding.

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Then we will explain the term breed and the
possibilities of classifying breeds.

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Next, we will briefly explain the basic principles
of animal breeding, and in conclusion, we

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will look at the current state of farm animals
in the world.

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Domestication is a complex and long-term process
that can be defined in different ways.

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One possible definition says that domestication
is the process of hereditary reorganization

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of wild animals into domestic forms according
to people’s interests.

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Domestication is an exciting phenomenon not
only from the perspective of biology but also

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from the perspective of the development of
human society.

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Hundreds of studies have been published on
the topic of domestication, and as technical

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possibilities are improved (here, I am mainly
referring to methods using DNA analysis),

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new findings are constantly emerging, or existing
ones are being refined.

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The beginnings of domestication are dated
to a relatively broad period of 15 to 5 thousand

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years before Christ and are associated with
the change in the way of life of people from

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a nomadic to a more settled one and the emergence
of agriculture when man was already able to

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close animals and keep them in secured areas
and provide them with food.

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The first domesticated species was the dog,
followed by sheep and goats.

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Domestication centers are found almost all
over the world, except for Australia and the

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polar regions.

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Most of them have been reported in Asia and
Europe.

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As for the domestication of individual species,
most of them were independently domesticated

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in several areas.

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Three essential pathways of domestication
are mentioned in the literature.

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On the one hand, this is the so-called prey
route, when domestication was preceded by

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hunting and extensive breeding in captivity.

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The second form was the so-called commensalism
when animals approached humans voluntarily

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and took the resulting advantages, such as
the possibility of obtaining food.

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Gradually, there was habituation to the presence
of humans and mutually beneficial cooperation.

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The direct route is an accelerated form of
the first mentioned route and was considered

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for species that were domesticated later,
i.e., when people already had some experience

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with animal keeping.

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Why did humans start breeding animals in the
first place?

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First of all, of course, it is an inquiry
of providing food in the form of meat, milk,

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or eggs, then animals are a source of various
raw materials, such as leather, fur, or wool,

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and last but not least, humans can use their
energy, for example, to transport goods and

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themselves, work in agriculture, forestry
etc.

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Here is a Tibetan yak pictured, which is just
an excellent example of a multi-purpose species.

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The reasons for domestication were not only
material but, for example, various religious

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rituals using animals as sacrifices are relatively
well documented.

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Animals already served man as companions in
ancient history.

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In certain cultures, animal breeding was a
prestigious matter that brought and demonstrated

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a better position in society, and last but
not least, it is necessary to mention the

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use of animals for defense.

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It is clear from history that wars were won
with horses.

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So now we know what animal husbandry brings
to humans, but let's look at it from the other

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side... if it also has any advantages for
domestic individuals.

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The answer to this question is not entirely
clear-cut; it will mainly depend on what and

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how intensive the use is.

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In any case, life in captivity is much easier
for an animal because it is provided with

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food, protected from adverse climatic conditions
and predators, and there is no need to look

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for a reproduction partner.

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This is connected to the fact that the genetic
makeup of individuals changes over time, as

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humans preferentially reproduce animals that
suit their ideas.

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Sometimes these decisions can partially go
against natural selection and allow genes

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to be passed on to the next generation, even
for individuals who cannot do so in the wild.

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These interventions affect the gene pool of
the species.

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Genetic modifications are created and spread
as a prerequisite for further development

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and the basis of the so-called domestication
changes, distinguishing domesticated animals

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from their wild ancestors.

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We can divide domestication changes into several
groups.

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Morphological changes are visible at first
glance, which include, for example, changes

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in body size in the sense of giant or dwarf
growth, changes in body proportions, changes

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in the ratio of individual parts of the body
to each other, for example, lengthening of

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the body and shortening of the limbs or changes
in the shape of the skull.

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Domesticated animals have also been reported
to significantly reduce brain capacity, specifically

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in pigs, with a reduced brain size of up to
30%.

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Other significant exterior modifications are
changes in the type of coat or plumage and

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changes in coloration, where domestic animals
generally show many more color variants than

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their wild ancestors.

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This is because in wild animals, the coloring
is often rather inconspicuous, which allows

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them to hide from predators.

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Domestication is generally associated with
the appearance of a white color, whether in

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full coat or the form of spots.

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There are, of course, exceptions, for example,
in animals living in polar regions.

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Another important group is physiological changes,
which are related to the internal functions

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of the organism and the regulation of some
basic physiological processes.

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From this group, the most significant changes
are those related to reproduction.

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This is especially true in the more frequent
repetition of estrus in domestic animals compared

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to wild ones.

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Domestic animals are often polyestrous, meaning
that heat repeats at regular intervals throughout

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the year, while wild females tend to be monoestrous
with heat only once a year.

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The last group is behavioral changes, where
we can include, for example, the loss of the

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migratory instinct or the reduction of the
stress response to the presence of humans.

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Now let's move on to animal breeding.

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As the beginning of modern animal breeding,
the first breeds emerged in England in the

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second half of the 18th century, when the
period was referred to as the Industrial and

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agricultural revolution.

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In this context, I want to mention especially
Mr. Robert Bakewell, whose name is associated

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with creating the Leicester sheep and Leicestershire
longhorn breeds, and the Colling brothers,

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responsible for creating the shorthorn breed.

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Another example of a well-documented breed
originating in England is the Thoroughbred.

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In the pictures, you can see three breeding
stallions at this breed's origin.

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Breeds are designated as thoroughbred, for
which historically only purebred breeding

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has been used for a long time without the
possibility of admixture of blood, respectively

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genes of other breeds.

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These breeds have a so-called closed stud
book, which means that only an individual

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can be entered in the studbook, which has
both parents already registered there.

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There is also no artificial insemination allowed
used in this breed.

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The main selection criterion is speed, respectively
racing performance.

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In the previous talk, the term breed was mentioned
several times, so it would be good to characterize

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it more precisely, as it is one of the basic
terms used in animal science.

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The breed is a basic taxonomic unit of animal
breeding.

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The breed is a specific group of domestic
animals having a homogeneous appearance (phenotype),

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homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics
that distinguish them from other organisms

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of the same species.

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These characteristics are genetically determined;
therefore, they are passed to the progeny.

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These typical (requested) traits are given
by BREED STANDARD.

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The formation of breeds can be done by selection
and/or crossing.

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Humans are usually at least minimally involved
in the creation of a breed.

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A breed exists if people are interested in
its breeding.

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There are approximately 8,800 breeds of 38
different animal species worldwide.

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The picture shows that many breeds are currently
endangered in some way, which you will hear

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about in more detail in the following lectures
of this module.

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We can classify breeds according to various
criteria.

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Given that this module is primarily focused
on genetic resources, I would like to mention

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the division of breeds according to the degree
of breeding or, let's say, according to the

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influence of the conditions of the environment
on the formation of a breed and how intensively

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a person interferes with his breeding work.

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While the so-called primitive breeds arise
mainly due to the adaptation of animals to

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certain local conditions, intensive breeding
activity is necessary to obtain the characteristics

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of so-called cultural breeds.

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Thanks to intensive breeding, there is an
increase in productivity and performance.

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However, on the contrary, the ability to adapt
can decrease, and such animals are then much

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more demanding in breeding conditions.

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For economic reasons, interest in breeding
high-performance breeds prevails worldwide,

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and less efficient breeds often become endangered.

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It is, therefore, true that the breeds included
in the genetic resources usually belong to

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the breeds with less degree of breeding, the
most often referred also as autochthonous,

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native, or local.

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Currently, we have so-called intensive specialized
breeds with high productivity and performance.

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The main tools of up-to-date breeding, which
are supposed to help ensure high productivity

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while maintaining a good level of functional
traits, are estimates of genetic parameters,

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breeding values and selection indices, genomic
selection, or methods enabling the shortening

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of the generation interval and the faster
achievement of genetic gain.

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You will learn more about these procedures
in further lectures.

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On the other side are native breeds, where
the goal of breeding should be to maintain

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their original typical traits.

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We can talk about conservative breeding.

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In the case of these breeds, high productivity
is not a priority, but genetic diversity monitoring

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is crucial.

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Interest in breeding these breeds can be supported,
for example, by promoting local products or

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subsidizing their breeders.

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The table shows the status of the main species
of farm animals in the world, in the European

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Union and in the Czech Republic.

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Note the different ratios of the representation
of individual species in the world and Europe

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due to their different requirements for breeding
conditions, as well as cultural traditions

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and possibly different religions in these
regions.

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Perhaps more interesting than a table with
these numbers is the graph, showing a continuous

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decline in farm animals (especially ruminants)
in the European Union.

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This reduction is partially compensated by
the increase in productivity, which mainly

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concerns milk production.

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Currently, the negative effects of animal
production on the environment are also intensively

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discussed, but that would be beyond the scope
of this lecture.

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At this moment I would like to thank you for
your attention.

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If you have any questions, you can use the
email listed here.