Investigating the genetic and productive characteristics of autochthonous Sarda goat

Goat farming plays, in Sardinia, a key role for local economy, especially in those areas where for environmental conditions it is not possible to rear other animals. While in the lowlands and hills there are several intensive farms in which cosmopolitan breed are reared, in mountainous areas the extensive rearing system is the most spread, and the native breed, the Sarda, is present.Goat products are mainly related to dairy productions, while there is only one meat product, represented by the suckling goat kids. The growing global market and the loss of economic power for these products could be prevented through the introduction, for example, of a trademark of designation of origin. In order to do this, the best knowledge about the health status of animals, milk traits, its hygienic and coagulation properties and meat characteristics is needed. This should help for preservation of an interesting biodiversity heritage and for a traditional rearing system that, without the proper valorisation, is going to disappear.In this scenario, this PhD work had been set up in order to investigate goat kids’ meat and goat milk characteristics and provide more information about these goat products. Four papers are included in this Thesis, 2 concerning Sarda goat kids’ meat properties and the effects of a milk replacer on slaughtering performances, and 2 regarding Sarda goat milk traits, their association with genetic and the polymorphisms at the CSN1S1, CSN2, CSN1S2 and CSN3 gene loci.