Guwahati: In a major milestone for livestock genomics and the biodiversity economy of the Himalayas, Indian scientists from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) have for the first time decoded the complete chromosome-level genome of the Indian yak (Bos grunniens) — a species that is the economic and nutritional backbone of transhumant communities across Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and Ladakh.
Led by the ICAR-National Research Centre on Yak (ICAR-NRCY), Dirang, in collaboration with ICAR-IIAB Ranchi, ICAR-CIRC Meerut, and ICAR-CICR Nagpur, the genome mapping was executed using cutting-edge long-read sequencing platforms and advanced bioinformatics pipelines. This publicly released data is now being hailed as a game-changer for selective breeding, disease resistance, climate adaptation, and long-term germplasm conservation — particularly for the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR), where the yak is both an economic unit and cultural asset.
“For the first time, yak genes have been placed on the chromosome level, allowing precise genomic studies in future,” said Dr. Martina Pukhrambam, Principal Scientist, ICAR-NRC on Yak.
But as India celebrates this scientific breakthrough, a crucial business question looms: Can genomic science transform a shrinking, informal yak economy into a scalable, sustainable value chain?
Yaks are the primary livestock species reared in high-altitude ecosystems above 3,000 meters, thriving where no other bovines can survive. They are central to the socio-economic fabric of the Brokpas of Arunachal Pradesh, the Bhutias of Sikkim, and communities across Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh. Yet, despite their criticality, yak products — milk, cheese (churpi), hair, meat, wool and hides — remain largely uncommercialized, unprocessed, and absent from national-level livestock policy and market infrastructure.
“Our work holds the potential to reduce disease-related losses, enhance milk productivity, and improve adaptability to climatic stressors,” added Dr. Mihir Sarkar, director, ICAR-NRCY. “But for real impact, this genome must be translated into field-level breeding policies.”
The project was funded under the ICAR-NEH (Northeastern Hill) program, marking a crucial use of national-level funding to support regionally important livestock species. The genome sequencing leverages state-of-the-art long-read sequencing technologies and advanced bioinformatics, resulting in a highly accurate chromosome-level genome map of the Indian yak.
What the Genome Offers
The sequencing decoded the yak genome into chromosome-level scaffolds — a level of detail that allows researchers to:
• Identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for traits like cold resistance, milk yield, hair quality, and disease immunity.
• Mine for functional alleles that separate the yak from its lowland cousins like Indian cattle.
• Enable marker-assisted breeding (MAB) and genomic selection to improve stock for climate resilience and productivity.
“This is a leap forward in genome-led animal husbandry,” said Dr. Sujay Rakshit, Director, ICAR-IIAB Ranchi. “It also shows how NEH budget allocations can be leveraged for species-specific genomic advancements.”
However, without commercialisation pathways, these advancements risk remaining restricted to academic publications, he added.
In Arunachal Pradesh alone, over 327 herder families rear yaks in Tawang (220) and West Kameng (107). Despite this socio-economic importance, the yak-based economy remains underdeveloped, marked by fragmented supply chains, absence of organised product processing, and no formal market linkage. Traditional yak product units such as churpi (cheese), yak butter, hair-based textiles, and ghee exist only at cottage scale in parts of Arunachal and Sikkim to cater to local needs. There is little or no access to larger markets or institutional support.
Yak rearing in these zones is practiced through a transhumant system — herders migrate seasonally between lower valleys and higher alpine pastures. But this system is increasingly unsustainable due to:
• Rapid climatic changes (retreating snowlines, erratic rainfall)
• Transhumance burden: Yak herders endure extreme hardship as they migrate seasonally
• Inferior germplasm, resulting in poor productivity
• Absence of organised veterinary and healthcare access
• Degraded pastures and lean-season fodder crisis
• Lack of insurance schemes and formal finance for herders
• Poor market connectivity to sell yak milk, fibre, or meat beyond village fairs or roadside outlets
“We have the genome now, but we still lack localised breeding centres, scalable fodder strategies, and buyer networks,” noted Dr. A.K. Mohanty, Director, ICAR-CIRC Meerut.
Lost Opportunities in the Yak Value Chain
Although both Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim locally process yak-based products, there are no organised industrial units, no national dairy partnerships, no textile cooperatives sourcing yak hair, and zero brand-led efforts to develop yak milk or fibre-based labels.
“Yak milk is richer in fat and protein than cow milk and can be a niche product, but we don’t have processing support or packaging infrastructure,” said Sarkar in an interview with Business North East (BNE).
Notably:
• Yak milk is used to make butter tea and churpi.
• Yak hair and hides are used for handcrafted tents, ropes, blankets, and boots, mostly by self-help groups.
• Yak dung is the only winter fuel in snowbound hamlets, linking it to both ecological and economic resilience.
Yet, despite its high-altitude value, the yak economy has no place in India’s livestock investment policy, including schemes like Rashtriya Gokul Mission or PM-DevINE which supports cattle improvement, and meant for Northeast-specific developmental gaps, mentioned Sarkar.
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He added, to capitalise on the genome work and address the economic vacuum, the following interventions are critical:
• Develop local breeding policies using marker-assisted selection and selective mating
• Establish community-level breeding centres and frozen semen banks
• Pilot mobile vet and vaccine access for transhumant herders
• Incentivise startups and cooperatives to work with yak-based milk, meat, and wool products
• Build geo-tagged supply chains from herder to processor to market
• Include yak-specific modules in government dairy and meat processing clusters
“Yak-based economies are part of India’s genetic and ecological heritage. The genome is a key tool — but only if institutions take the next step toward inclusive market development,” said Dr. Y.G. Prasad, Director, ICAR-CICR.
"This is not just a scientific milestone, it is an economic doorway," Pukhrambam added.
India has cracked the genomic code of the yak — a feat that places the country on the global map of livestock genomics. But high science must now meet high-altitude economics.
Unless commercial frameworks, veterinary care, and climate-resilient infrastructure are rapidly scaled up, the genome will remain an underutilized asset — powerful in theory, but weak in livelihood impact. The future of India's yak economy now depends not on what scientists can sequence, but on what markets, institutions, and policymakers can deliver next.
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