In term of livestock biodiversity, the developing world is in a more enviable position than the so-called developed world. It could be potentially a gold mine for the developing world if properly studied and evaluated. Biotechnology and molecular markers in particular can definitively help here. A genetic bottleneck has most likely followed all domestication events. In this context, the identification of the ancestral species contributing to the genetic pool of a species is essential.
Countries still hosting population of the wild ancestors are in a unique position.
Similarly the identification and the conservation of breeds at, or nearby, the center of origins, might often display most the genetic variation. Most of the current livestock breeds of the developing world are a mixture of different genetic influences. Molecular markers are providing us with the tools to unravel these influences. The identification of these ancestral components is the essential background against which an individual country livestock biodiversity can be understood. Our experience with African cattle, however, indicates that it can be nevertheless a very realistic task.