This breed of cattle developed in the New World can withstand climate change, say Irish scientists

‘Criollo’ was a term used frequently in the ‘Casta’ system of the colonial Hispanic and Lusophone Americas. Derived from Portuguese ‘Crioulo’, it distinguished people born in the New World from those native to Iberia (Spain and Portugal) who were known as ‘Penninsulares’.

But ‘Criollo’ also extended to livestock (cattle, sheep, horses and goats). Now, Irish scientists have found that Criollo cattle are best suited to surviving and thriving in a warming world, given their tolerance to hot and humid climes, developed over hundreds of years.

Scientists from University College Dublin (UCD) in the Irish capital conducted research into micro-evolutionary changes in Criollo cattle.

The research provided “strong evidence of several distinct coat and skin colouration traits that are advantageous in cattle populations exposed to significant levels of incident solar radiation,” a statement by UCD noted.

The researchers found that the Criollo has a short, slick-hair coat that provides improved thermotolerance. This allows the animal to better withstand hot and humid weather.

The UCD team also used whole-genome sequencing data to detect a host of gene signatures associated with a myriad of adaptive traits, revealing genes linked to reproduction, fertility, and disease immunity, the statement added.

Surviving climate change

The first cattle in the Americas were from La Gomera in the Spanish Canary Islands that were brought to the island of Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic today) on the second voyage of Christopher Columbus in 1493, according to the study.

While livestock farming rapidly spread over the island, “the spread of animals to the South American continent was more gradual”.

“Over the ensuing five centuries, increasing numbers of cattle were exported to North and South America particularly as the process of European colonisation intensified during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries,” the study noted.

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In later centuries, indicine (zebu) cattle (Bos indicus) were directly introduced from South Asia into South America. Modern South American cattle thus also trace their ancestry to zebu, in addition to European taurine cattle.

The cattle that came to the Americas from Iberia in the 15th and 16th centuries were adapted to Mediterranean climates.

But over the centuries, they evolved adaptations to tropical and arid environments, emerging as distinctive breeds with unique heat tolerance and disease resistance traits, according to the researchers.

“Climate change brings more than just higher temperatures, warmer weather also means too little precipitation, abrupt temperature swings, increased soil erosion, more wildfires, and generally more pests and more diseases,” noted the UCD statement.

Those cattle that are thus able to withstand hot weather, are less likely to experience temperature-related stress.

This results in improved body weight and more efficient food production, as well as improved animal welfare in warmer climates.

However, like in India, Criollo cattle are undervalued in modern production systems. They and face gradual replacement by more productive commercial breeds. This is eroding indigenous cattle genetic resources in Latin America, according to the study.

“This study underscores the remarkable adaptability of Criollo cattle and highlights the genetic richness and potential of these breeds in the face of climate change, habitat flux and disease challenges,” added David MacHugh, lead author of the study from UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science.

Genomic insights into the population history and adaptive traits of Latin American Criollo cattle was published in the journal Royal Society Open Science.