Bioscience Evidence 2025, Vol.15, No.6, 291-302 http://bioscipublisher.com/index.php/be 297 6 Factors Driving Genetic Differentiation between Wild and Domestic Buffalo Populations 6.1 Environmental stress and ecological adaptation (wetlands, forests, agricultural landscapes) Wild water buffaloes mainly inhabit wetlands and forest areas. These dynamic and challenging ecological environments prompt them to develop a series of genetic adaptations. They exhibit stronger resistance to local pathogens, physiological characteristics that adapt to water level changes, and behavioral strategies that effectively avoid predators. In contrast, domestic water buffaloes are raised and selected in agricultural landscapes. Human selection gradually replaces or supplements the pressure of natural selection, with a focus on improving production traits such as milk production, docility and draft capacity. Wild water buffaloes' habitats include dense, waterlogged forests and wetlands, while domestic water buffaloes mainly live in irrigated farmlands and artificially managed pastures. This habitat difference is clearly reflected in its genetic composition, resulting in significantly different ecological adaptations between the two (Luo et al., 2020; Macciotta et al., 2021). The buffalo marsh type is more closely associated with wetland and paddy field ecosystems, retaining more morphological and genetic features from wild ancestors. On the contrary, river buffaloes, being selected for use in drier agricultural areas, exhibit higher milk production capacity and better heat tolerance. 6.2 Human-mediated factors: artificial selection, habitat fragmentation and cross-regional livestock mobility Artificial breeding mainly aims to improve traits like milk yield, meat quality, and draft ability. River buffaloes have been under strong selection for milk traits for a long time. Because of this, they show large differences in appearance and performance, and some groups have become specialized breeds with high genetic diversity, such as the Italian Mediterranean buffalo (Luo et al., 2020; Zhong et al., 2020; Macciotta et al., 2021; Si et al., 2024; Pauciullo et al., 2025). In contrast, marsh buffaloes were mostly used for farm work in the past. The selection pressure on them was much weaker. So, their traits look more similar overall, but they still show clear genetic differences between different regions. Habitat fragmentation often happens because of farmland expansion, city growth, and fences or other physical barriers. These barriers reduce gene flow between groups. When this happens, small groups may face more inbreeding and may lose genetic diversity (De Jager et al., 2020; Quinn et al., 2023; Colangelo et al., 2024; Karanja et al., 2025) (Figure 2). Cross-border trade, animal movement, or artificial hybridization can also move livestock from one region to another. This may bring new genetic resources to some groups, but it can also make different groups more similar and break the local gene pool that supports regional adaptation. Figure 2 Genome-wide heterozygosity levels estimated for 58 cape buffalo samples (Adopted from Quinn et al., 2023)
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjQ4ODYzNA==