Indirect genetic effects and the spread of infectious disease: are we capturing the full heritable variation underlying disease prevalence?

ABSTRACT: Reducing disease prevalence through selection for host resistance offers a desirable alternative to chemical treatment. Selection for host resistance has proven difficult, however, due to low heritability estimates. These low estimates may be caused by a failure to capture all the relevant genetic variance in disease resistance, as genetic analysis currently is not taylored to estimate genetic variation in infectivity. Host infectivity is the propensity of transmitting infection upon contact with a susceptible individual, and can be regarded as an indirect effect to disease status. It may be caused by a combination of physiological and behavioural traits. Though genetic variation in infectivity is difficult to measure directly, Indirect Genetic Effect (IGE) models, also referred to as asso

SUBMITTER: Lipschutz-Powell D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3387195 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature