3.Translating genomic information to tools for controlling
diseases
- Genomic tools are providing new opportunities for understanding
genetic diversity, the genetic variation associated with diseases
processes, and host-pathogen interactions. The scientific information
generated from the use of these tools in animal health research will
enable the rational design of highly effective diagnostics, vaccines,
drugs, biotherapeutics, and animals resistant to diseases.
- One possible solution is multi-or across-breed prediction, although
its utility depends on various factors, including genetic distances
among populations and the trait(s)considered (Lund et al., 2014). Such
strategies have been successfully tested on relatively large dairy
cattle breeds (Lund et al., 2011; Hozé et al., 2014), but are yet
untested on small breeds. Given that application of GS in small breeds
would require high-density genotyping, once again a specific
cost–benefit analysis should be carefully considered.
- Another option, especially in populations where pedigree information
is known, could be to genotype key ancestors at high-density and the
rest of the population at low-medium density (Hozé et al., 2014).
Imputation methods, also with a multi-breed reference population, can
then be applied to obtain high genotyping accuracies for all animals
(Berry et al., 2014).
4.Integrating stakeholder support to advance animal genomics in
animal health
The promise of animal genomics will not be achieved without
stakeholder support. The burden of communicating the significant
opportunities that genome-enabled technologies offer for improving
animal health lies squarely on the shoulders of the animal health
research community.