Genetic Uniqueness for Immune Response Traits in Native Animal Genetic Resources

Abstract

Breeding of animals for disease resistance is an important intervention in the era of emerging and re-emerging pathogens in livestock and poultry. Livestock and poultry species of India are considered as an important genetic resource for climate resilience as well as relative less susceptibility to tropical diseases. Indian livestock populations with a broad genetic base, due to availability of diverse breeds and populations, have advantage over the exotic counterpart. Introduction of cross breeding in India, cattle in particular, with exotic germplasm, has further helped in identification of several genes and pathways involved in gaining better immunity against the prevalent diseases. Unique alleles have been identified in the major histocompatibility region and other immune response genes, including toll-like receptors, having important role in disease resistance. Major impediment in associating genetic polymorphism with the disease resistance however, is the non-availability of standardized phenotypic data. Though attention is being diverted towards understanding the genetic basis of disease resistance in native livestock and poultry, there is a need to utilize the latest genome based technologies for fully understanding as well as exploiting the genetic potential of indigenous breeds.