Over the centuries since mankind first started farming, genetic variation has allowed the selection of the improved crops and livestock that have fed an ever increasing population. Maintaining genetic variation is crucial if we want to continue to improve our livestock and respond to changes in climate, disease or consumer preferences. The following article by Sarah Blott, John Williams and Chris Haley describes work at the Roslin Institute on the evaluation of genetic diversity in European cattle breeds.

Click here to download the article Genetic Diversity among European Cattle Breeds.

This table contains the key to the mapping within the article:

Key
Abbrev	Breed	Abbrev	Breed	Abbrev	Breed	Abbrev	Breed
AA	Aberdeen Angas	GA	Galloway	LM	Limousin	SA	Salers
AY	Ayshire	GB	Gelbvieh	LO	Longhorn	SD	South Devon
BB	Belgian Blue	GL	Gloucester	LR	Lincoln Red	SH	Shorthorn
BA	Blonde d’Aquitane	GU	Guernsey	PH	Poll Hereford	SM	Simmental
BG	Belted Galloway	HF	Hereford	MA	Maine-Anjou	SX	Sussex
BS	Brown Swiss	HL	Highland	MC	Marchigiana	WB	Welsh Black
BW	British White	HO	Holstein-Fresian	MR	Meuse-Rhein-Yssel	WP	White Park
CH	Charolais	IC	Icelandic	MU	Murray Grey
CI	Chianina	JS	Jersey	PM	Piemontese
DX	Dexter	KY	Kerry	RM	Romagnola