Molecular tools and analytical approaches for the characterization of farm animal genetic diversity

Summary Genetic studies of livestock populations focus on questions of domestication, within‐ and among‐breed diversity, breed history and adaptive variation. In this review, we describe the use of different molecular markers and methods for data analysis used to address these questions. There is a clear trend towards the use of single nucleotide polymorphisms and whole‐genome sequence information, the application of Bayesian or Approximate Bayesian analysis and the use of adaptive next to neutral diversity to support decisions on conservation.