Association within growth traits, susceptibility to Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus and the level of Babesia bovis in beef cattle

• Grant number: 13/20513-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: December 01, 2013
• End date: November 30, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Genetics and Improvement of Domestic Animals
• Principal Investigator: Henrique Nunes de Oliveira
• Grantee: Rodrigo Giglioti
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Jaboticabal. Jaboticabal , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus tick and Babesia spp. cause major damages in domestic livestock by reducing the productivity of animals restraining the use of taurine cattle. The aim of this study is to identify mechanisms involved in the dynamic and interaction within the tick, Babesia and Canchim (5/8 Charolais + 3/8 Zebu) cattle in order to detect associations that may be used for selection of resistant animals. 50 females raised on pastures naturally infested by ticks will be used in this experiment. They will be phenotyped for levels of tick infestation, Babesia bovis infection and its weights. For two years, monthly, female ticks will be counted, animals blood samples and weights will be collected. The packed cell volume (PCV) will be used as an indicator of animal health. DNA extracted from the blood and the ticks are used for of B. bovis absolute quantification by real-time PCR (qPCR). Titers of serum antibodies against B. bovis will be measured. For data analysis, mathematical transformations and mixed model methodology will be used. The analysis model includes the effect of collection as fixed effect and animal as random effect. The occurrence of association within the studied parameters will be performed. The associations will point out the traits that can be used to characterize the susceptibility/resistance to ticks and the cattle babesiosis.