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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Ames, Iowa » National Animal Disease Center » Ruminant Diseases and Immunology Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #86977
Title: APPLICATIONS OF GENETIC TESTING: BOLA CLASS II ALLELES AS RISK FACTORS FOR MASTITIS IN DAIRY COWS

Author
item Kehrli Jr, Marcus
item FREEMAN, A - IOWA STATE UNIV., AMES
item KELM, S - IOWA STATE UNIV., AMES
item DIETZ, A - MAYO CTR, ROCHESTER, MN
item DETILLEUX, J - UNIV. LIEGE, BELGIUM

Submitted to: Korean Journal of Veterinary Public Health
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/14/1997
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Genetic testing has eliminated undesirable traits from the breeding population of dairy cattle throughout the world. Here we summarize recent studies investigating the effects of BoLA Class II alleles on health and immune function traits of dairy cattle. The BoLA Class II allele DRB3.2*16 was identified in 2 studies as a potential risk factor for mastitis. Other studies have reported alleles DRB3.2*8, *16, *22 and *24 to be associated with susceptibility to persistent lymphocytosis caused by bovine leukemia virus and alleles DRB3.2*11, *23 and *28 were associated with resistance to the persistent lymphocytosis of bovine leukemia virus infection. The basis for the effects of these alleles with regard to susceptibility and resistance to viral disease symptoms, mastitis incidence and susceptibility values are not known. Although evidence exists for the influence of genetics on the susceptibility to infectious disease, investigating such relationships is not straightforward. Natural infection rates and heritabilities are low, and large families amenable to genetic analysis often do not have adequate records of disease occurrence. Moreover, associations reported with the genotype of the BoLA-DRB3 locus may also represent the influence of other closely linked loci. This influence might include differences in the control of expression of the class II molecule as well as polymorphisms in important surrounding genes. Major problems in marker-assisted selection for disease resistance are accurate determination of disease etiology and severity, as well as multiple gene affecting the phenotypic expression of disease.