Open AccessIdentification of MHC Alleles Associated With Disease Resistance/Susceptibility In Smallholder Cattle In Zambia
Author(s) -
Isaac Silwamba,
Martin Simuunza,
Joseph Ndebe,
Edgar Simulundu,
Geoffrey Mainda,
John Bwalya Muma
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of agricultural and biomedical sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2710-138X
pISSN - 2226-6410
DOI - 10.53974/unza.jabs.5.1.494
Subject(s) - allele , biology , major histocompatibility complex , mastitis , disease , foot and mouth disease , virology , veterinary medicine , genetics , immunology , virus , immune system , medicine , microbiology and biotechnology , gene , pathology
Background: The occurrence of Major Histocompatibility complex (MHC) alleles associated with resistance to Mastitis, Bovine Leukaemia Virus (BLV), Theileriosis, Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and susceptibility Dermatophilosis in African cattle is ill defined. Methods: Here, we used manual annotation to screen for five MHC alleles previously known to be associated with resistance/susceptibility to these diseases from a database of alleles sequenced from 846 cattle in Zambia. Results: Overall, we found 28 (3.3%), 21 (2.6%), 55 (6.5%), and 15 (1.8%) animals with resistance alleles to Mastitis, BLV, Theileriosis, FMD and 39 (4.6%) animals with susceptibility alleles to Dermatophilosis, respectively. Conclusion: This study provides the first evidence of resistance/susceptibility alleles in smallholder cattle in Zambia and the data could aid strategies for breeding cattle with enhanced resistance to disease in endemic countries.