Rae Marvin Smith

Abstract The Kolbroek pig is indigenous to South Africa and a breed of choice for smallholder farmers. This is mainly due to its characteristics, such as disease resistance and adaptability to tropical agroecological environments. Despite these desirable traits, the genomic architecture of this breed has not been explored.

Abstract The African BioGenome Project (AfricaBP) Open Institute for Genomics and Bioinformatics aims to overcome barriers to capacity building through its distributed African regional workshops and prioritizes the exchange of grassroots knowledge and innovation in biodiversity genomics and bioinformatics. In 2023, we implemented 28 workshops on biodiversity genomics and bioinformatics, covering 11 African countries across the 5 African geographical regions.

Bontebok (Damaliscus pygargus pygargus) and blesbok (D. p. phillipsi) have been classified as separated sub-species (van der Walt et al., 2013; van Wyk et al., 2013). The blesbok have a widespread distribution in South Africa (Skinner & Smithers, 1990) with an estimated population size of 235,000–240,000 (East, 1999). Bontebok are endemic to the Cape Floristic Region of the Western Cape in South Africa (Radloff et al., 2017; Figure 1).