Integrated Conservation Strategies for the Oravka Chicken: Advances in Cryopreservation Technologies for Endangered...

Local poultry breeds represent an essential component of agricultural biodiversity and play an important role in ensuring the resilience of livestock production systems under changing environmental conditions. The Slovak national chicken breed Oravka is a dual-purpose genotype adapted to mountain and sub-mountain production environments and classified as an endangered genetic resource. The conservation of this breed therefore requires integration of traditional breeding programmes with modern reproductive biotechnologies. The present literature review summarises the origin, breeding characteristics and adaptive potential of the Oravka breed and provides a comprehensive overview of current ex situ conservation strategies based on cryopreservation of reproductive and stem cells. Special attention is devoted to the cryopreservation of primordial germ cells, mesenchymal stem cells and rooster spermatozoa, which represent key biological material stored within national gene bank infrastructure. Differences in cryosurvival between blastodermal cells and germline stem cells are discussed together with methodological limitations of avian embryo cell preservation. The review highlights the importance of combining in situ and ex situ conservation approaches and emphasises the role of poultry gene banks as strategic tools for safeguarding genetic diversity under climate change conditions. The Oravka breed represents a valuable model for integrated conservation strategies linking biodiversity protection, reproductive biotechnology and sustainable poultry production in Europe.