Conserving Animal Genetic Resources for Heat and Cold Resilience in Domestic Species

Animal genetic resources underpin biodiversity, sustainable agriculture, food security, and ecosystem resilience. Climate change and other rapid environmental shifts are accelerating genetic erosion and exposing animals to both heat and cold stress extremes, reducing population adaptability, compromising health, welfare, and productivity, and increasing the vulnerability of production systems and ecosystems worldwide.This Research Topic centers on the conservation toolkit needed to safeguard animal genetic diversity under a changing climate: germplasm banking and cryopreservation, in-situ and community-based management of threatened and indigenous populations, and the physiological, behavioral, and ecological basis of thermal resilience domestic species. Genomic, phenomic, and bioinformatic tools are welcomed as means to characterize adaptive variation and identify traits linked to heat and cold tolerance, but the Topic’s central interest lies in translating that knowledge into locally appropriate, ethically grounded conservation, welfare, and management outcomes - bridging biological science, field practice, and policy.We aim to bring together researchers, conservation practitioners, breeders, and policymakers to examine how genetic diversity contributes to resilience, how ex-situ and community-based conservation strategies can protect vulnerable populations, and how thermal adaptation can be supported through both genetic and non-genetic interventions across wild and domestic animal systems.We welcome Original Research, Reviews, Methods, Case Studies, and Perspectives addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:• Cryopreservation, germplasm banking, and long-term ex-situ management of animal genetic resources;• Conservation genetics and genomic monitoring of threatened, indigenous, and locally adapted breeds; • Genetic diversity, population structure, inbreeding, and genetic erosion as determinants of resilience in domestic species; • Physiological, metabolic, endocrine, and behavioral responses to heat and cold stress in domestic animals; • Genomic, transcriptomic, epigenomic, and phenomic approaches for identifying adaptive traits, used as tools in support of conservation and welfare goals; • Interactions between thermal stress, animal health, welfare, reproduction, productivity, and survival; • Non-genetic strategies for mitigating heat and cold stress, including management, nutrition, and housing interventions; • Community-based, participatory, and locally appropriate approaches to conserving animal genetic resources; • Policy frameworks, governance, and ethical considerations in the conservation and sustainable use of animal genetic resources; • Integration of conservation and adaptation strategies across production systems, ecosystems, and regions; • Climate-change scenarios, risk assessment, and decision-support tools for conservation and adaptation planning. Topic editors: Neila Lidiany Ribeiro, Janaina Kelli Gomes Arandas, Juan Vicente Delgado Bermejo Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/85030/conserving-animal-genetic-resources-for-heat-and-cold-resilience-in-domestic-species