Genomics is an excellent novelty for many. However, it is not the case of farms, which have been using it for genetic selection for over ten years.

It’s hard to explain in a nutshell what genomics is. We should bring up concepts of genomes, molecular biology, DNA sequencing, big data, and other things that are no less complicated. It’s easier telling what we do with genomics, for many a great novelty, but not for farms, which have been using it for genetic selection for over ten years.

Before it, they relied on the case. Just take the example of cattle. They chose a bull whose offsprings had excellent performance over time and used it with cows with great production promises. Then they crossed their fingers, hoping for good fortune because genes and chromosomes don’t always do what you expect.

With genomics, everything changes. We are looking for the genes responsible for a specific character, for example, milk or meat production. We are choosing bulls whose genetic heritage certainly has that character sought and can be transmitted. We have looked for genes that give more food efficiency, greater productive longevity, and resistance to diseases.

However, genomics promises to do, even more, helping us prevent and defeat diseases that humans risk sharing with animals (especially wild ones). The Sars-Cov-2 pandemic is one of them, as others might appear, better to play in advance, as suggested by the “One Health” approach, which inspires modern medicine in a global health path.

The research carried out by the University of Bologna, under the Department of Agri-Food Sciences and Technologies guidance, goes towards this direction, also realizing three projects where genomics is used for hunting viruses to keep under control. So, it has discovered, examining a kind of genomic “archive”, to update the previous epidemiological findings, redesigning both the period of identification of some viruses and their presence in different geographical areas.

As the project coordinator, Luca Fontanesi, points out, all these studies make it possible to understand how viruses circulate and spread, to check for the presence of new strains that deserve attention to evaluate their likely evolution.

Finally, from this research, there is the possibility of identifying genetic variants in animals capable of offering resistance to Sars-Cov-2. This is the AnGen1H project (an acronym for Animal genomics for a “One Health”), which seems to be in the same direction as other research, with which The Sustainable Meat Project (Carni Sostenibili) already had the opportunity to deal earlier on. In that case, emphasis was placed on the possibility of detecting forms of immunity in dogs and cattle.

The projects of the University of Bologna, summarized in a study published in “Scientific Reports”, focus on swine to observe their resistance to the Sars-Cov-2 attack. The research aims to verify the role of genetic characteristics in conferring this kind of immunity.

Thanks to genomics, four genes found in 25 swine populations (23 European and two Asian) have fired the attention of the researchers, with 2229 variants highlighted, some of which (29) were able to interact with the virus’s “attack” mechanisms. Here is the name of the four genes: ACE2, ANPEP, DPP4 (spike viral protein receptors), and TMPRSS2 (proteinase-related). The practical repercussions of this evidence are essential.

Firstly, new opportunities are opening up for the selection of sars-cov-2 resistant animals. But having found in a few native European breeds (reared in France and Portugal), the wanted variants emphasize the importance of the conservation of species, even the least productive.

The availability of an extensive genetic heritage is a “mine” of genes from which to draw to have resistant animals, thus reducing the risk of zoonosis, which is how we define the passage of diseases from animals to humans. But it may not be enough because the main dangers are elsewhere.

According to science, there is no link between intensive farming, or we should say instead professional farms and COVID-19. The pandemic itself holding the world hostage comes from the bat, perhaps with a passage in the pangolin. A similar path is that made by Sars and Ebola. HIV comes from monkeys, like chikungunya.

Mers comes from camels and dromedaries. Avian influenza itself is transmitted mainly by wild birds, and even African swine fever, which does not affect humans, but devastates farms, has its transmission reservoir in wild boars.

It is justified to concern health in professional farms, but paradoxically more for economic rather than health reasons. Because that’s not where the biggest threats to our health come from. On the other hand, human’s relationship with Nature should be questioned, too often compromised and not only in the animal field.

Health policies in the One-Health approach, where human and animal health go together, are welcome. We should not solely focus on livestock farming, which is not the primary source of the problem. On the contrary, it can be a solution.