ResilientGOAT — Genomics of resilience in Angolan indigenous goats
Goats are the species people fall back on when conditions turn hard: they persist through drought, poor forage and disease pressure where cattle cannot. In southern Angola they are central to household food security — and their genetics remain almost entirely undescribed.
ResilientGOAT investigates the genomic basis of that resilience, drawing on the biobank of local livestock populations established in 2021.
The project has five objectives: 1. Characterise the genetic diversity and population structure of Angolan indigenous goats using high-throughput genome sequencing. 2. Identify signatures of selection associated with resistance to trypanosomosis and other endemic diseases. 3. Investigate the genomic basis of adaptation to drought and to low-input production systems. 4. Train Angolan researchers in population genomics and bioinformatics.5. Establish the scientific basis for conservation and breeding strategies for indigenous goat populations in Angola.
Investigation Team:
Principal Investigator
Andreia de Jesus Amaral Gomes Barbosa Fonseca (UÉVORA, Portugal)
Members
Hermenegildo Chiaia (UJES, Angola), PhD candidate
José Alexandre da Costa Perdigão e Cameira Leitão (ULISBOA, Portugal)
José Manuel Moras Cordeiro (UJES, Angola)
Fábio Teixeira (UEVORA, Portugal)
Kiala Sebastino (IIV, Angola),
Joaquim Gaspar (UJES, Angola)
Pedro Roberto Afonso (UJES, Angola)