Sheep farming plays a vital role in supporting food security, particularly within local communities across texas and the united states

The Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded Prairie View A&M University $300,000 under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) on September 15, 2026, to develop genomic and breeding strategies that enhance heat tolerance in Navajo-Churro sheep.

The project pursues three objectives: identifying reliable phenotyping methods for assessing heat stress in the breed, elucidating the genetic basis of heat tolerance through comprehensive genomic analyses, and identifying genes and pathways that differ between high-heat and low-heat tolerant sheep via transcriptomic analysis. Outputs from this work will support development of a cost-effective functional SNP panel to capture heat tolerance variation in Navajo-Churro sheep and inform genomic selection strategies applicable to other sheep breeds. The research addresses seasonal heat stress as a significant challenge to sheep production by disrupting physiological homeostasis, impairing growth and performance, and in severe cases increasing mortality rates—constraints that threaten food security and local agricultural economies, particularly across Texas and the United States.

Performance occurs in Prairie View, Texas, with a completion date of September 14, 2028. The award is structured as a project grant with $300,000 obligated.

However, seasonal heat stress presents a significant challenge to sheep production by disrupting physiological homeostasis. This disruption can impair growth and performance, and in severe cases, increase mortality rates. This project aims to develop genomic and breeding strategies to enhance heat tolerance in navajo-churro sheep, while supporting the long-term advancement of animal agriculture through the preservation of germplasm and genetic diversity. To do this, we are focusing on threemain objectives. Firstly, we plan to identifyreliable phenotyping methods for assessing heat stress in navajo-churro sheep. Secondly, we will elucidate the genetic basis underlying heat tolerance in this breed through comprehensive genomic analyses. Finally, we willidentify the genes and pathways that differ between high-heat and low-heat tolerant sheep through transcriptomic analysis. The insights from this project willsupport the development of a cost-effective functional SNP panel that can capture variation of heat tolerancein navajo-churro sheep andthe development of genomic selection strategies to improve this trait across other sheep breeds. If successful, this project could enhance the long-term advancement of sheep production systems while providing insights and tools that may be applicable to other areas of livestock agriculture.