Informations et ressources scientifiques
sur le développement des zones arides et semi-arides

Long-term Europe-Africa Research and Innovation Partnership for Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture

Titre : SCALA-MEDI : Improving sustainability and quality of Sheep and Chicken productions by leveraging the Adaptation potential of LocAl breeds in the MEDIterranean area

Pays/Région : Tunisia ; Algeria ; Morocco

Date : Start date 2021-09-01 // End date 2025-08-31

Identifiant : 454-SCALA-MEDI
Type de projet : Applied research project

Contexte
Sheep and chicken are the most important livestock species in the Southern Mediterranean countries. They are the basis of the local diets and are reared in marginal areas of the Northern Mediterranean. In Europe, the management of local sheep and chicken breeds is well characterised. Still, in North Africa, local and regional populations and breeds are poorly defined while possessing unique adaptation to the harsh environment. Accelerated selection for thermal tolerance and resilience to new endemic diseases is becoming urgent to counteract the detrimental effect of climate change on livestock welfare, as it is the valuation and conservation of local breeds as a reservoir of unique gene variants. Genomics plays a vital role in this respect, with phenotype recording and epidemiological and environmental data collection. Breeding for adaptation to climate change and mitigation of livestock’s impact on climate change is probably the most complex challenge the sector has ever faced.

Présentation
The SCALA-MEDI project will characterise the genetic and phenotypic diversity of Mediterranean local breeds of sheep and chicken and study their ability to adapt to harsh environments and management systems. The project will leverage data produced in EU projects and generate new data. It includes traditional production traits and new technologies for remote phenotyping of adaptation-related traits, genotyping, and exploring the genome methylation status of animals reared in different environmental conditions. Data and samples will be collected on local breeds from Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco (16 sheep breeds and village chicken populations from different bio-climatic environments), taking advantage of local expertise in Italy and France. Local resources will be characterised for the farming system, diversity, distinctiveness, and adaptive traits. Genomic data will be analysed to identify loci controlling adaptation traits and product authenticity. It will create decision-making tools to improve conservation and selection programmes and management strategies for the Mediterranean livestock production system to face future climate change scenarios.

Coordinateur : Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
Partenaires : National Research Council, Italy (CNR) CMCC Foundation Agenzia per la ricerca in agricoltura (Agris Sardegna) Nature 4.0 University of Sciences and Technology of Oran Mohamed Boudlaf University of Tlemcen Abou Bekr Belkaïd Technical Institute of Breeding Tlemcen (ITLEV) French Livestock Institute (Idele) French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE) Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA-MAROC) Moroccan Poultry Federation (FISA) Association Nationale Ovine et Caprine (ANOC) Mateur Higher School of Agriculture National Agronomic Institute of Tunisia (INAT) Office de Développement Sylvo-Pastoral du Nord-Ouest (ODESYPANO) National Genebank of Tunisia

Financement principal : Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD) (H2020
Budget : 1 749 999 EUR

FNSSA project database