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Genetic resistance to transmissible spongiformencephalopathies (TSE) in goats

8/25/2017

EFSA Panel on Biological Hazards (BIOHAZ)
Antonia Ricci, Ana Allende, Declan Bolton, Marianne Chemaly, Robert Davies,
Pablo Salvador Fernandez Escamez, Rosina Girones, Lieve Herman,
Kostas Koutsoumanis, Roland Lindqvist, Birgit Nørrung, Lucy Robertson, Giuseppe Ru, Moez Sanaa, Panagiotis Skandamis, Niko Speybroeck, Marion Simmons,
Benno Ter Kuile, John Threlfall, Helene Wahlstrom, Pier-Luigi Acutis,
Olivier Andreoletti, Wilfred Goldmann, Jan Langeveld, Jack J Windig,
Angel Ortiz Pelaez and Emma Snary

Abstract
Breeding programmes to promote resistance to classical scrapie, similar to those for sheep in existing transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) regulations, have not been established in goats. The European Commission requested a scientific opinion from EFSA on the current knowledge of genetic resistance to TSE in goats. An evaluation tool, which considers both the weight of evidence and strength of resistance to classical scrapie of alleles in the goat PRNP gene, was developed and applied to nine selected alleles of interest. Using the tool, the quality and certainty of the field and experimental data are considered robust enough to conclude that the K222, D146 and S146 alleles both confer genetic resistance against classical scrapie strains known to occur naturally in the EU goat population, with which they have been challenged both experimentally and under field conditions. The weight of evidence for K222 is greater than that currently available for the D146 and S146 alleles and for the ARR allele in sheep in 2001. Breeding for resistance can be an effective tool for controlling classical scrapie in goats and it could be an option available to member states, both at herd and population levels. There is insufficient evidence to assess the impact of K222, D146 and S146 alleles on susceptibility to atypical scrapie and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or on health and production traits. These alleles are heterogeneously distributed across the EU Member States and goat breeds, but often at low frequencies (< 10%). Given these low frequencies, high selection pressure may have an adverse effect on genetic diversity so any breeding for resistance programmes should be developed at Member States, rather than EU level and their impact monitored, with particular attention to the potential for any negative impact in rare or small population breeds.

Download your copy here: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.2903/j.efsa.2017.4962/epdf

Visit the EFSA Journal at:
http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/publications

© 2017 European Food Safety Authority. EFSA Journal published by John Wiley and Sons Ltd on behalf of European Food Safety Authority.

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Announcement: Handbook of Milk of Non-Bovine Mammals (2nd edition)

8/24/2017

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The first edition of the Handbook of Milk of Non-Bovine Mammals was so popular, that since published in 2006, the book has been translated into Spanish and Chinese, which were published in 2010 and 2011, respectively. Furthermore, the handbook has been adopted as the textbook for research by Harvard Medical School.

Because of so much global demand from readers/scientists, Wiley-Blackwell published an updated 2nd edition of the book this year.

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Dairy, Science, Society, and the Environment

8/7/2017

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Dairy has intertwined with human society since the beginning of civilization. It evolves from art in ancient society to science in the modern world. Its roles in nutrition and health are underscored by the continuous increase in global consumption. Milk production increased by almost 50% in just the past quarter century alone. Population growth, income rise, nutritional awareness, and science and technology advancement contributed to a continuous trend of increased milk production and consumption globally. With a fourfold increase in milk production per cow since the 1940s, the contemporary dairy industry produces more milk with fewer cows, and consumes less feed and water per liter of milk produced. The dairy sector is diversified, as people from a wider geographical distribution are consuming milk, from cattle to species such as buffalo, goat, sheep, and camel. The dairy industry continues to experience structural changes that impact society, economy, and environment. Organic dairy emerged in the 1990s as consumers increasingly began viewing it as an appropriate way of both farming and rural living. Animal welfare, environmental preservation, product safety, and health benefit are important considerations in consuming and producing organic dairy products. Large dairy operations have encountered many environmental issues related to elevated greenhouse gas emissions. Dairy cattle are second only to beef cattle as the largest livestock contributors in methane emission. Disparity in greenhouse gas emissions per dairy animal among geographical regions can be attributed to production efficiency. Although a number of scientific advancements have implications in the inhibition of methanogenesis, improvements in production efficiency through feeding, nutrition, genetic selection, and management remain promising for the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions from dairy animals. This article describes the trends in milk production and consumption, the debates over the role of milk in human nutrition, the global outlook of organic dairy, the abatement of greenhouse gas emissions from dairy animals, as well as scientific and technological developments in nutrition, genetics, reproduction, and management in the dairy sector.

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Genetic resistance to transmissible spongiformencephalopathies (TSE) in goats

Announcement: Handbook of Milk of Non-Bovine Mammals (2nd edition)

Dairy, Science, Society, and the Environment

IGA Blog

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