Herd health is a constant worry for pork producers, especially with increasing restrictions on the use of antibiotics and other preventative treatments. Recent improvements in biosecurity practices can help, of course, but breeding for disease resilience offers a vital, complementary approach.
“Genetic improvement can be an important component in a comprehensive strategy to combat the impacts of disease,” says Jack C. M. Dekkers, Ph.D., a C.F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor in the Department of Animal Science at Iowa State University. “How pigs respond to disease has a substantial genetic component and can, thus, be selected for. While resistance to some diseases is determined by a single gene, resistance to most diseases is controlled by many genes and is not complete.”
Measuring Resilience
In his upcoming talk at United Pork Americas in Orlando, Fla. (Sept. 7-9, 2022), Dekkers will discuss how and why genetics can play a critical role in lessening the impact of disease on pork production. “An understanding of the genetic basis of resistance and resilience of disease will help producers determine the best sources of genetics for their operations,” Dekkers says.
His current research focuses on the genetic basis of feed efficiency and health in pigs and poultry and the integration of quantitative genetics and genomics in breeding programs. “Most pigs are exposed to multiple infectious diseases, and the threat of the appearance of new pathogens is always looming,” he explains. “In those cases, selection for disease resilience, which is the ability of an animal to maintain performance while infected, is an important solution. Because most genetic selection takes place in high-health nucleus herds, there is a need to identify measures or predictors of disease resilience that can be obtained on healthy pigs.”
He is certainly not alone in believing that infectious disease, particularly foreign disease, is one of the biggest issues facing the pork industry today. Producers continue to refine their biosecurity procedures to combat infection from viruses such as porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) and porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED), as well as foreign diseases, including African swine fever (ASF), but Dekkers notes that due to recent restrictions in prevention and treatment, “the need to combat the impact of disease by other means is of increasing importance.”
Things You May Not Know About Jack C.M. Dekkers
Favorite pork dish: Baby back ribs
Education: I have a BS and an MS in Animal Science from Wageningen University in the Netherlands, as well as a PhD in Animal Breeding from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.
Favorite place to travel: Greece
Favorite pastimes: I enjoy biking, gardening, landscaping and spending time with my grandkids.
Favorite theme park in Orlando: Epcot
Jack C.M. Dekkers, PhD, will join other industry experts at United Pork Americas to offer valuable insights. Register for the conference today at www.UnitedPorkAmericas.com.
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