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Published on: June 5, 2012
Strain-specific genetic relationships between Mycoplasma synoviae immunity and egg production traits in two layer
Xingyue Niu1, Qi Yang1, Xiaoyu Zhao2
1College of Animal Science and Technology, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding Hebei 071001, China.
Abstract:
Mycoplasma synoviae (MS) infection causes inflammatory responses in laying hens, leading to significant egg quality deterioration and potential mortality. Due to suboptimal vaccine efficacy and control measures, genetic improvement for disease resistance represents a critical strategy. Using 2,375 Rhode Island Red (RIR) and 2,575 White Leghorn (WL) purebred hens with distinct genetic backgrounds, we systematically evaluated immune responses, production performance, and egg quality throughout the laying cycle following MS immunization. At 100 wk, plasma IgA, IgG, and IgM concentrations were quantified in 720 RIR and 435 WL hens, with egg quality measured in WL hens and multi-trait genetic parameters systematically estimated. Phenotypic analysis revealed that IgA and IgM concentrations were similar between lines (RIR: 1786.8, 748.4 μg/mL; WL: 1793.4, 742.1 μg/mL), while IgG and MS-specific antibody titer (MSAT) were significantly higher in WL than RIR (P<0.001), with high variation in immune traits (CV: 27.6%-46.1%). Heritabilities of MSAT were low in both lines (RIR: 0.19; WL: 0.15), and heritabilities of immunoglobulins ranged from 0.09 to 0.17. Genetic correlations revealed positive associations among immunoglobulins in both lines (RIR: 0.42-0.75; WL: 0.38-0.83). Body weight at 18 wk (BW18) was negatively genetically correlated with age at first egg (AFE) in both lines (RIR: -0.57; WL: -0.61). The two lines showed different genetic correlation patterns: MSAT with IgA (RIR: -0.46; WL: 0.16), MSAT with egg production from 301 to 560 d (EP301-560) (RIR: 0.38; WL: -0.24), and MSAT with shank length at 6 wk (SL6) (RIR: -0.29; WL: 0.19). Immunoglobulins were mostly positively correlated with growth traits in RIR but negatively correlated in WL. MSAT was positively genetically correlated with eggshell strength (ESS), eggshell thickness (EST), egg shape index (EI), and eggshell weight (ESW) in WL, indicating a genetic synergy between anti-MS antibody response and eggshell quality. This first estimation of MSAT genetic parameters reveals complex associations among immune, production, growth, and egg quality traits, providing a direct reference for line-specific, multi-trait, synergistically optimized disease-resistant breeding programs.
