P.PSH.0816-Immune fitness as a measure of animal health, welfare and productivity

Summary

The red meat and livestock industry has grown by 42% from 2013-14 to 2018-19, driven in part by an increasing shift towards the feedlot sector to satisfy export demands in an increasing drought- and flood-stricken environment. Meeting increasing demand in the face of an adapting global climate necessitates streamlining of production processes to ensure high production outcomes while also optimising livestock health and welfare experiences. This calls for development and integration of novel methods that seek to facilitate the best for both livestock and producer.

This project aimed to provide an objective measure of an animal’s immune fitness, otherwise termed immunocompetence. Immune fitness enables production animals to respond to challenges affecting health, well-being and productivity. Such a measure would assist industry stakeholders to evaluate the positive impact of changed management procedures and to support productivity (“fit for purpose”).

The key findings from the study revealed panels of genes that were differentially expressed and telomere length estimation, that at an early stage in the production process in both sheep and cattle were predictive of production outcomes (disease resilience and/or capacity to achieve weight gain). These markers are suggested as candidates for creation of a panel for production scoring termed the Immune fitness Index. This index would enable producers to identify cattle or sheep at risk of failure to thrive, triggering adaptations to management for improved animal welfare.

Benefits to industry

A fitness index could be adopted as a marketable commodity at point-of-sale, as a measurable index of the health and welfare of the animals through the production chain. Further, the research has identified genes associated with a baseline for cattle resulting in meat scored within the top 25% MSA index.

Consideration of health, welfare and production aspects may enable the selection of high performing livestock without compromising the health and welfare of the animal that would have foreseeable financial benefits to the producer and would aid in adoption of the Immune fitness index.

Future research

Further research should include validation of the relevance of these biomarkers across breeds and production systems. Further, the gene expression signature(s) identified as predictors of immune fitness and MSA Index could be incorporated into existing estimated breeding values (EBVs).