Abstract

Nigerian indigenous goats represent a valuable genetic resource for meat and milk production. However, their productivity often falls below their genetic potential due to suboptimal nutrition. Nutrigenomics offers a revolutionary approach to bridge this gap by exploring the interaction between nutrients and goat genes. It explores how nutrigenomic tools can be used to identify gene variants associated with feed efficiency, meat quality, and milk production. There are various technologies designed to ensure genetic potentials are realized. Nutrigenomics is aimed at exploiting the non-coding section of an individual's genome, which is being disregarded in traditional animal nutrient requirement assessment. Nutrigenomic technology has the potential to unlock the genetic potentials of animals and essentially help to confront nutritional challenges, particularly in Nigerian indigenous goats, of which there is a dearth of information on nutritional needs and requirements. This review delves into the potential of nutrigenomics to unlock the genetic potential of Nigerian indigenous goats. Additionally, the review discusses the challenges and future directions of nutrigenomic research in Nigerian goats. By implementing nutrigenomic strategies, Nigerian goat production can be revolutionized, leading to increased productivity, improved product quality, and enhanced farmer livelihoods. It is hoped that this review will provide vital information to aid research in utilizing the nutrigenomics potential of unlocking the genetic potentials and reproductive performance of Nigerian indigenous goats through nutrition.

Key words: Breeds, Diversity, Genetics, goats, Nutrigenomics