Within herd test prevalence affects genetic variation in antibody response to Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis in milk of Dutch Holstein-Friesians

Abstract

Within Herd Test Prevalence Affects Genetic Variation in Antibody Response to Mycobacterium avium Subspecies paratuberculosis in Milk of Dutch Holstein-Friesians - K.J.E. van Hulzen, M. Nielen, A.P. Koets, G. de Jong, J.A.M. van Arendonk and H.C.M. Heuven. Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands. Worldwide, classical control strategies based on hygiene and culling of infected animals have not been able to eradicate Johne’s disease. Therefore, breeding for disease resistance may be a useful tool to contribute to control the disease. In this study, genetic parameters were estimated for the presence of a Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis specific antibody response in milk of Dutch Holstein-Friesians using subsets of data based on within herd test prevalence levels. The estimated heritability ranged from 3.1% for the complete dataset to 9.7% for herds with a minimum test prevalence of 10%. Cross-validation analysis showed that breeding values were predicted most accurately using data obtained from herds with at least 2 positive tested animals, hence a heritability of 4.1% (± 0.4).