Transportation, diet, caloric intake and environmental temperature are a handful of stressors that can impact the cell-mediated immune response (Bagath et al., 2019; Brandão et al., 2019; Buhler et al., 2019; Herd et al., 2019). Because breed can also influence an animal’s response to infection, genetics represents an important component to combating disease. ImmuneDEX describes a new method of defining immune competence that can be incorporated into beef cattle breeding strategies (Reverter et al., 2021). The long term outcome of the selection method may include improved disease resistance in beef cattle.

ImmuneDEX – A strategy for the genetic improvement of immune competence

Credit: Journal of Animal Science, Volume 99, Issue 3, March 2021, skab007, doi.org/10.1093/jas/skab007

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Publisher: American Society of Animal Science

Rights: Name must appear as a credit whenever the image is used - Journal of Animal Science, Volume 99, Issue 3, March 2021, skab007, doi.org/10.1093/jas/skab007

Description: Transportation, diet, caloric intake and environmental temperature are a handful of stressors that can impact the cell-mediated immune response (Bagath et al., 2019; Brandão et al., 2019; Buhler et al., 2019; Herd et al., 2019). Because breed can also influence an animal’s response to infection, genetics represents an important component to combating disease. ImmuneDEX describes a new method of defining immune competence that can be incorporated into beef cattle breeding strategies (Reverter et al., 2021). The long term outcome of the selection method may include improved disease resistance in beef cattle.

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