VOLUME ISSUE () 1 REVIEW ARTICLE Agricultural Reviews, Volume Issue : () R-2169 [1-6] Livestock Breeding for Disease Resistance: A Perspective Review Ankita Gogoi, Bula Das 1 , Prasanta Chabukdhara 2 , Arundhati Phookan 1 , Donna Phangchopi 10.18805/ag.R-2169 ABSTRACT Livestock plays a momentous role in a country’s economy especially in a developing nation like India, where livelihoods of about 20.5 million people depend upon livestock and its allied sectors, suggesting that about two-third of the rural community is involved (Annual Report, 2018). The small ruminants like sheep and goat provide main source of income for many economically poor people, especially marginal and landless farmers. Similarly the role of these livestock to various pastoral communities cannot be ignored. So whenever there is a disease outbreak, the burden of huge economic loss falls on these poor livestock keepers. The traditional methods of disease management involve either treatment with antibiotics or vaccination for prevention of diseases. However, the indiscriminate use of these antibiotics has lead to antibiotic-resistant pathogens and likewise it is extremely difficult to develop vaccines against a wide range of pathogens that are frequently mutating and are caused by multi etiological factors. Hence, considering all these factors breeding of disease resistant animals becomes a top priority in this changing world. The literature is filled with references of indigenous animals and poultry being resistant to many diseases. Keeping this in view, the current review has been written to highlight sustainable and feasible methods for breeding them for disease resistance. Key words: Breeding, Disease, Indigenous, Livestock, Resistance. The theory of disease resistance is a complex and dynamic process of host parasite or host pathogen relationship. The term commonly refers to individual’s fight to infection i.e., a host’s ability to moderate the pathogen and also resistance to consequences of the contagion. The defence mechanism against the pathogens or parasites by living hosts can be divided into two broad classes: resistance and tolerance. The resistance mechanisms actively reduce the pathogen burden, whereas tolerance mechanisms limit the impact of disease caused at any particular burden (Roy and Kirchner 2000, Miller et al. 2005). It is well known that in a disease outbreak only the resistant animals survive. So when restocking of livestock population is done after the calamity, the main objective of a breeder would be to select only the resistant animals that can survive with minimum input and managemental practices. Therefore, the first consideration will be disease tolerance, i.e., within a population, some individuals are more tolerant to specific pathogens. Secondly, there is resilience, which determines whether an individual can recover from illness. Both tolerance and resilience are dependent on host and pathogen genetics and they complicate the path from infection back to health (Richardson, 2016). So, a very important precondition for developing disease-resistant animal varieties will be to understand the variability mechanisms of the important pathogen(s) and identifying evolutionary dynamics of various defence systems of host–pathogen interactions. Understanding immunogenetics The study of genetic basis of the immune response is known as immunogenetics. The term was introduced with the discovery of ABO blood groups and were first demonstrated through the existence of “natural” antibodies i.e. , isoantibodies (Landsteiner, 1901). The broad field of immunogenetics include study of normal immunological pathways as well as identification of genetic variations that result in immune defects, which may facilitate detection of new therapeutic targets for immune diseases. Hence, understanding and subsequent manipulation of host immune response (immunomodulation) is the most precise and effective tool to reduce disease incidences and nullify the limitations associated with antibiotic treatment or vaccination. Therefore, breeding for disease resistance has gained considerable attention from researchers in the recent past. Immune response genes Often it was observed that individuals respond differently to same infectious agent. A possible explanation may be the Department of Animal Genetics and Breeding, Lakhimpur College of Veterinary Science, Assam Agricultural University, Joyhing, North Lakhimpur-787 051, Assam, India. 1 Department of Animal Genetics and Breeding, College of Veterinary Science, Assam Agricultural University, Khanapara-781 022, Guwahati, Assam, India. 2 Department of Physiology and Biochemistry, Lakhimpur College of Veterinary Science, Assam Agricultural University, Joyhing, North Lakhimpur-787 051, Assam, India. Corresponding Author: Ankita Gogoi, Department of Animal Genetics and Breeding, Lakhimpur College of Veterinary Science, Assam Agricultural University, Joyhing, North Lakhimpur-787 051, Assam, India. Email: ankita.gogoi@aau.ac.in How to cite this article: Gogoi, A., Das, B., Chabukdhara, P., Phookan, A. and Phangchopi, D. (2021). Livestock Breeding for Disease Resistance: A Perspective Review. Agricultural Reviews. DOI: 10.18805/ag.R-2169. Submitted: 25-01-2021 Accepted: 07-05-2021 Online: 09-06-2021