Genome wide association study of passive immunity and disease traits in beef-suckler and dairy calves on Irish farms

Abstract

Calves with lower concentrations of immunoglobulin G (IgG) in their blood, have a greater risk of developing diseases. There is a lack of knowledge on genetic markers known to be associated with immunological variability or disease resistance. Therefore, the objective of this study was to identify SNP markers associated with passive immunity measures (serum IgG, serum protein, albumin, globulin and total protein concentrations, total solids Brix percentage, zinc sulphate turbidity units) and disease (pneumonia, diarrhoea, crude illness) traits in Irish commercial beef-suckler and dairy calves through genome wide association studies (GWAS). Genotyping was performed on DNA samples from beef-suckler (n = 698) and dairy (n = 1178) calves, using the IDBv3 chip. Heritability of passive immunity associated traits (range 0.02–0.22) and the disease traits (range 0.03–0.20) were low-to-moderate. Twenty-five and fifteen SNPs approached genome wide significance (P < 5 × 10−5) for the passive immunity and the disease traits, respectively. One SNP “ARS-BFGL-BAC-27914” reached Bonferroni genome wide significance (P < 1.15 × 10−6) for an association with serum IgG concentration in beef calves. Further work will evaluate these SNPs in larger cattle populations and assess their contribution to genomic selection breeding strategies, aimed towards producing more disease resistant livestock.

Plasma albumin-to-globulin ratio before dry-off as a possible index of inflammatory status and performance in the subsequent lactation in dairy cows

“…Another factor potentially involved in the differences in AG could be genetics. Some authors suggested indeed a small genetic influence on plasma proteins, even though with a low to moderate heritability (Peterson et al, 1982;Cecchinato et al, 2018;Johnston et al, 2020). In our study, cows in the 3 groups had similar breeding values, but we cannot exclude that some genetic variant could be implied.…”

1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 potentiates the innate immune response of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from Japanese Black cattle

“…Given that dairy and beef cattle have been selectively bred for distinct traits, namely milk and meat quality, respectively, the difference in their genetic traits and farming practices have possibly impacted immunity. Indeed, some studies have reported the difference between dairy and beef calves in immune responses (Johnston et al, 2020;Surlis et al, 2018).…”

Recording of calf diseases for potential use in breeding programs: a case study on calf respiratory illness and diarrhea

“…Murray (2011) reported that calf mortality in Canada ranged between 7% and 11%, and 53% of calf mortality was attributed to diarrhea and 21% to respiratory illness. Consequently, many international efforts have aimed at estimating genetic parameters for calf health traits (Heringstad et al 2008;Fuerst-Waltl et al 2010;Henderson et al 2011aHenderson et al , 2011bMcCorquodale et al 2013;Gonzalez-Peña et al 2019;Johnston et al 2020;Zhang et al 2022), showing low heritability for calf diarrhea (range: 0.03-0.06), calf respiratory illness (range: 0.04-0.09), and calf mortality (range: 0.001-0.12). This suggests that selection for these traits is possible, but, with the exception of the Clarifide Plus product (Zoetis 2018) and the new Calf Immunity Index (Semex 2022), the incorporation of these traits in routine genetic evaluations is limited to date.…”