Roth Katharina, Pröll-Cornelissen Maren Julia, Heuß Esther Maren, Dauben Christina Mechthilde, Henne Hubert, Appel Anne Kathrin, Schellander Karl, Tholen Ernst, Große-Brinkhaus Christine
Institute of Animal Science, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
BHZP GmbH, Dahlenburg-Ellringen, Germany.
J Anim Breed Genet. 2022 Nov;139(6):695-709. doi: 10.1111/jbg.12735. Epub 2022 Jul 29.
Improving the immunocompetence towards pathogens represents a desirable objective of breeding strategies to increase resilience. However, the immune system is complex and the genetic foundation of the underlying components is not yet clarified. In the present study, we focused on 22 blood parameters of 1,144 Landrace (LR) and Large White (LW) piglets at the age of 6-7 weeks. The immune profiles covered immune cells, red blood cell characteristics and cytokines. Genetic parameters based on pedigree information along with possible environmental effects were estimated. Litter effects play an important role in the expression of immune parameters of their young progenies. Hence, litter impacts on the piglet's immune profile including the immune parameters of the dam itself were investigated by different models. To incorporate the complexity of the immune network, the data were further investigated with a principal component analysis. Immune traits showed low to high breed-specific heritabilities (h ). Strong positive r were estimated among red blood cell characteristics (0.77-0.99) and among cytokines (0.48-0.99). Neutrophils and lymphocytes illustrated a high negative r (-0.96 to -0.98). The litter impact on piglet's immunity was examined and strengthened already observed breed differences. In LR, h (0.22-0.15) and litter effect (c ) (0.52-0.44) for IFN-γ decreased after statistical consideration of maternal impact. In LW, a decrease in h (0.32-0.18) for IFN-γ and an increase in c (0.54-0.56) were observed. Here, sufficient correlations were detected within various immune traits and functional biological networks of principal components. Most immune traits are heritable and are promising to cover global breed-specific immunocompetence in pigs. The analysis of immune traits has to be extended in order to find an optimal range and to characterize relationships between immunity and performance to gain an improved immune system without accidental losses in productivity.
提高对病原体的免疫能力是育种策略中提高恢复力的一个理想目标。然而，免疫系统很复杂，其潜在组成部分的遗传基础尚未阐明。在本研究中，我们聚焦于1144头6至7周龄长白猪（LR）和大白猪（LW）仔猪的22项血液参数。免疫特征涵盖免疫细胞、红细胞特征和细胞因子。基于系谱信息估计了遗传参数以及可能的环境效应。窝效应在其幼崽免疫参数的表达中起着重要作用。因此，通过不同模型研究了窝对仔猪免疫特征的影响，包括母猪自身的免疫参数。为了纳入免疫网络的复杂性，进一步用主成分分析对数据进行了研究。免疫性状表现出低到高的品种特异性遗传力（h）。红细胞特征之间（0.77 - 0.99）和细胞因子之间（0.48 - 0.99）估计有很强的正相关（r）。中性粒细胞和淋巴细胞呈现出很高的负相关（r）（-0.96至-0.98）。研究了窝对仔猪免疫力的影响，并强化了已观察到的品种差异。在长白猪中，在统计考虑母体影响后，IFN - γ的h（0.22 - 0.15）和窝效应（c）（0.52 - 0.44）降低。在大白猪中，观察到IFN - γ的h（0.32 - 0.18）降低，c（0.54 - 0.56）增加。在此，在各种免疫性状和主成分的功能生物学网络中检测到了足够的相关性。大多数免疫性状是可遗传的，有望涵盖猪的全球品种特异性免疫能力。为了找到最佳范围并表征免疫力与性能之间的关系，以便在不意外损失生产力的情况下获得改善的免疫系统，必须扩展对免疫性状的分析。
