Breeding for immune responsiveness and disease resistance

Area of Science:

• Animal Science
• Immunogenetics
• Genetics

Background:

• Reducing disease losses in animal production significantly enhances efficiency, product volume, and quality.
• Genetic variation for disease resistance exists in animals and poultry, offering potential for selection.
• Breeding for disease resistance complements other control measures like vaccination and medication.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the feasibility of improving animal disease resistance through genetic selection.
• To assess the potential of indirect selection on immune response traits for general disease resistance.
• To identify research needs for enhancing disease resistance without negatively impacting production traits.

Main Methods:

• Reviewing the role of genetic variation in disease resistance.
• Analyzing the feasibility of simultaneous selection for disease resistance and production traits.
• Discussing indirect selection strategies focusing on immune response traits.

Main Results:

• Selection for specific disease resistance to all infections is impractical.
• Indirect selection on immune response traits offers a long-term strategy for general disease resistance.
• Negative genetic correlations among immune functions may hinder progress.

Conclusions:

• Improving general disease resistance requires better understanding of resistance mechanisms and genetic correlations.
• Future research must estimate heritability and genetic correlations for immune response, disease resistance, and production traits.
• New breeding techniques, including molecular genetics, are essential for advancing disease resistance in farm animals.