Genetics of Animal Health and Disease in Livestock

Abstract

Livestock diseases adversely affect animal production throughout the world. Although there are some examples of genetic resistance to disease in livestock, disentangling the genetic effects is a compelling task. Indeed, in most cases, animals are not resistant to a disease, but they vary in their susceptibility to the disease agents. Therefore, it is still difficult to demonstrate the potential of the genetic approach and to be able to identify genetic variation that accounts for disease resistance and/or tolerance.