Prospects of breeding small ruminants for resistance to internal parasites

Resistance to nematode parasites can be improved by selection, but efforts to include appropriate traits in commercial livestock breeding programs are only a recent development. Procedures for including resistance in breeding programs are similar to those involving other traits. The steps are descri...

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Autores principales: Woolaston, R.R., Baker, R.L.
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Elsevier 1996
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/28794
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author Woolaston, R.R.
Baker, R.L.
author_browse Baker, R.L.
Woolaston, R.R.
author_facet Woolaston, R.R.
Baker, R.L.
author_sort Woolaston, R.R.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Resistance to nematode parasites can be improved by selection, but efforts to include appropriate traits in commercial livestock breeding programs are only a recent development. Procedures for including resistance in breeding programs are similar to those involving other traits. The steps are described with special reference to sheep, and areas are highlighted where particular considerations exist. Three approaches are described and contrasted: breeding for resistance (reduced parasite numbers, as determined by faecal worm egg count); resilience (production during parasitism); or number of treatments required during parasitism. It is necessary, but difficult, to assess the economic benefits of improving resistance relative to other traits. Disease costs vary widely depending on the prevalence of the disease and on the availability, effectiveness and sustainability of alternative control measures. Costs of treatment and control are relatively simple to estimate for a given situation, but production losses are more difficult. Methods of dealing with this problem are discussed. Breeding for disease resistance usually requires that either selection candidates, or their relatives, are exposed to the pathogen so that resistance levels can be compared. Parasitic diseases generally create no special ethical problems in a breeding program unless natural challenge levels are insufficient to enable discrimination between hosts in their susceptibility. In the longer term, it is desirable that selection criteria for all major diseases be developed that will be informative in healthy animals. Molecular genetic markers offer promise, but simple genetic markers have so far been as elusive as physiological traits to predict resistance in undiseased animals. In the longer term, useful genetic markers will be found and techniques for combining these with phenotypic information need to be developed. Commercial breeding programes for sheep which include resistance to gastrointestinal roundworms are now operating in Australia and New Zealand, and issues related to breeding in the tropics are discussed.
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spelling CGSpace287942024-05-01T08:15:28Z Prospects of breeding small ruminants for resistance to internal parasites Woolaston, R.R. Baker, R.L. animal breeding sheep pest resistance parasites nematoda breeding methods tropics genotypes infectious diseases parasitology Resistance to nematode parasites can be improved by selection, but efforts to include appropriate traits in commercial livestock breeding programs are only a recent development. Procedures for including resistance in breeding programs are similar to those involving other traits. The steps are described with special reference to sheep, and areas are highlighted where particular considerations exist. Three approaches are described and contrasted: breeding for resistance (reduced parasite numbers, as determined by faecal worm egg count); resilience (production during parasitism); or number of treatments required during parasitism. It is necessary, but difficult, to assess the economic benefits of improving resistance relative to other traits. Disease costs vary widely depending on the prevalence of the disease and on the availability, effectiveness and sustainability of alternative control measures. Costs of treatment and control are relatively simple to estimate for a given situation, but production losses are more difficult. Methods of dealing with this problem are discussed. Breeding for disease resistance usually requires that either selection candidates, or their relatives, are exposed to the pathogen so that resistance levels can be compared. Parasitic diseases generally create no special ethical problems in a breeding program unless natural challenge levels are insufficient to enable discrimination between hosts in their susceptibility. In the longer term, it is desirable that selection criteria for all major diseases be developed that will be informative in healthy animals. Molecular genetic markers offer promise, but simple genetic markers have so far been as elusive as physiological traits to predict resistance in undiseased animals. In the longer term, useful genetic markers will be found and techniques for combining these with phenotypic information need to be developed. Commercial breeding programes for sheep which include resistance to gastrointestinal roundworms are now operating in Australia and New Zealand, and issues related to breeding in the tropics are discussed. 1996-08 2013-05-06T07:01:26Z 2013-05-06T07:01:26Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/28794 en Limited Access Elsevier International Journal of Parasitology;26(8/9): 845-855
spellingShingle animal breeding
sheep
pest resistance
parasites
nematoda
breeding methods
tropics
genotypes
infectious diseases
parasitology
Woolaston, R.R.
Baker, R.L.
Prospects of breeding small ruminants for resistance to internal parasites
title Prospects of breeding small ruminants for resistance to internal parasites
title_full Prospects of breeding small ruminants for resistance to internal parasites
title_fullStr Prospects of breeding small ruminants for resistance to internal parasites
title_full_unstemmed Prospects of breeding small ruminants for resistance to internal parasites
title_short Prospects of breeding small ruminants for resistance to internal parasites
title_sort prospects of breeding small ruminants for resistance to internal parasites
topic animal breeding
sheep
pest resistance
parasites
nematoda
breeding methods
tropics
genotypes
infectious diseases
parasitology
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/28794
work_keys_str_mv AT woolastonrr prospectsofbreedingsmallruminantsforresistancetointernalparasites
AT bakerrl prospectsofbreedingsmallruminantsforresistancetointernalparasites