Brazil has several breeds of domestic animals that have been developed from breeds brought by Portuguese colonists at the time of discovery. Over the centuries, these breeds have been subjected to natural selection in environments in which they live to the point of presenting specific characteristics to adapt to these conditions. They are known as “creole", "local" or "naturalized".

Currently, many of these breeds are endangered of extinction because over the centuries, they have been replaced by other breeds considered more productive. However, they represent genetic treasures, because of the characteristics of hardiness and adaptability to the environment, which are very important for breeding programs in Brazil.

In order to prevent the disappearance of these races, Embrapa created 20 years ago a research program called "Conservation and Use of Animal Genetic Resources".

This program resulted in the establishment of a network of conservation nuclei scattered throughout the country, supplying semen and embryos for the Animal Germplasm Bank (BGA, abbreviation in Portuguese) and the blood DNA bank located in the Animal Genetics Laboratory (LGA), both located at Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology, Brasilia, DF.

This project aims to ensure the continuity of ex situ conservation activities, focusing more direct actions with each conservation nuclei. Besides Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology, the project counts on the participation of other units of Embrapa, state institutions, universities and private breeders.

The participation of partners is crucial for the conservation of animal genetic resources, considering their contribution as donators of genetic material (semen, embryos and DNA) and their role in the rehabilitation of native breeds in the productive sector.

The project has three action plans, aimed specifically: (1) the enrichment of BGA, (2) the enrichment of the DNA bank, and (3) documentation and computerization of these banks. The project has also, as an objective, to keep a small number of animals of each of the breeds in the Experimental Farm Field Sucupira order to be used as donors of germplasm, besides serving to educate society about the importance of conservation of animal genetic resources.

The main goal of this project is to increase the genetic variability of the material stored in the BGA, as well as provide its DNA for molecular characterization, aiming at the reintegration of the naturalized breeds in the existing production systems in the country.