Selection on functional longevity in a commercial population of dairy goats translates into significant differences in longevity in a common farm environment

Abstract

Resilience is the ability of an animal to cope with environmental disturbances, such as pathogens or negative energy balance. To improve resilience through breeding, we need resilience indicators. Functional longevity might be a good indicator of a dairy goat's lifetime resilience as it results from the ability to cope with and recover from all the challenges faced throughout its lifetime. The aim of this study was to validate the use of functional longevity as an indicator of resilience for selection. To address this question, we created 2 genetic lines of Alpine goats using hyperselected artificial insemination bucks with the most extreme estimated breeding values for functional longevity and the same milk yield performance. A total of 440 goats, 228 in the high longevity (high_LGV) and 221 in the low longevity (low_LGV) lines, were bred and monitored for 4 yr. Health treatments, serum IgG concentration as a proxy of passive immune transfer in early life, kidding, age, and reason of culling were systematically noted. Weight and body morphology were monitored. Weight and growth during the first year of life were similar in both goat lines. In contrast, the low_LGV goats had a lower weight during the beginning of first lactation than high_LGV goats. The milk fat-to-protein ratio was also significantly higher in low_LGV goats during first lactation. A multivariable Cox regression was fitted to the data to decipher survival at different stages of life in the 2 lines. The overall survival of high_LGV goats was significantly better than low_LGV goats (hazard ratio = 0.63, confidence interval = 0.47; 0.86) even after we included treatment, growth, serum IgG concentration at birth, and year effects in the model. The line effect was not constant over time; no significant effect was found during the first year, and the difference was observed after first kidding. This result suggested that survival at an early stage of life and during later productive life are under different genetic regulation. Altogether, this monitoring of the goat lines indicated that functional longevity-based selection helps to improve resilience by improving survival and mitigating some indicators of fat mobilization during early lactation.