Current status and unique attributes of Indian Chilika buffalo for adaptation to brackish water ecology

• Published in: Tropical animal health and production 2021-12, Vol.53 (6), p.544-544, Article 544
• Main Authors: Singh, Ravinder, Mishra, Shailendra Kumar, Gurao, Ankita, Niranjan, Saket Kumar, Vohra, Vikas, Dash, S. K., Mukesh, Manishi, Rajesh, C., Kataria, Ranjit Singh
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biomedical and Life Sciences; Brackish water; Bubalus bubalis; Buffalo; Climate change; Coastal waters; Dehydration; Fisheries; Germplasm; Ion transport; Lagoons; Life Sciences; Livestock; Mitochondria; Regular Articles; Resource consumption; Veterinary Medicine/Veterinary Science; Zoology
• ISSN: 0049-4747; 1573-7438
• DOI: 10.1007/s11250-021-02973-z

Chilika buffalo is native to the Eastern coast of India and well adapted to the largest coastal brackish water lagoon of Asia, Chilika Lake. We present here a report on the Chilika buffalo breed emphasizing the conservational urgency based on unique biochemical and molecular evidence related to liver and kidney functions while comparing it with tropically adapted other water buffalo breeds ( Bubalus bubalis ) of India. It is found that the Chilika buffalo breed has a better ability to withstand a long dehydration period as evident from its better glomerular filtration and higher expression of the ion transport channel. Mitochondrial D-loop sequencing results have shown these buffaloes being closer to swamp-type buffaloes of Bangladesh and northeast India and represent a unique “hybrid zone” on the eastern coast of India. Conservation of such uniquely adapted germplasm is crucial owing to the current global trend, where the introduction of exotic breeds has negatively impact “sui-generis” germplasm and they require higher managerial resource consumption for maintaining higher productivity. Further, the introduction of unconventional fisheries activities has proved detrimental to the lagoon ecosystem, potentially causing more threat to the buffalo’s population. Highlights Indigenous livestock are key indicators of climatic changes and local community sustenance. The Chilika buffalo has an important evolutionary role in riverine buffaloes. The higher SLC9A3 expression enables the Chilika buffalo to thrive in brackish water. The climatic changes and introduction of the exotic breed have distorted the unique germplasm.