Goat research in Bangladesh has opened a new chapter. A team of researchers in Chattogram has decoded the complete genome of the Black Bengal goat, the country's local black goat. They have found the reasons behind three main weaknesses of one of the world's best goat breeds and are working to develop a better breed by overcoming them.

The team is led by Professor A M A M Zonaed Siddiki of Chattogram Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (CVASU), with seven researchers from five universities in Chattogram: CVASU, the University of Chittagong, Asian University for Women, USTC and Premier University. The results were published in BMC Research Notes (Springer Nature), and another part in Mitochondrial DNA Part B (Taylor & Francis). The US National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) has recognised the work.

The achievement follows the decoding of the jute, buffalo and hilsa genomes. In November last year, Professor Bazlur Rahman Mollah of Bangladesh Agricultural University also succeeded in similar research.

Professor Siddiki said decoding the genome has identified the breed's weak traits and revealed information for improving meat quality, disease resistance and fertility. If the new breed they are working on succeeds, goat production will rise and help reduce poverty. Two agencies of the Ministry of Agriculture have shown interest in funding it.

The three weaknesses are: PPR, a viral disease that kills 5 to 10 per cent of Black Bengal kids soon after cold, fever and other symptoms appear, whose mechanism has now been identified; and a doe's average of two and a half kids a year, where the third kid gets too little milk and often dies or stays weak.

The genome is about 3.4 gigabase pairs, with some 26,000 genes on 29 pairs of chromosomes. All data are stored in the NCBI database. A high-speed computer with 128 GB of RAM was installed at CVASU, and a University Grants Commission server was also used.

According to the Department of Livestock Services, Bangladesh is fourth in the world in goat numbers and fifth in goat meat production. Black Bengal goat skin is known internationally as "Kushtia grade". The country has more than 25 million goats, 95 per cent of them Black Bengal.

Source: Prothom Alo. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.