Quantitative genetics of gastrointestinal strongyle burden and associated body condition in feral horses.

ABSTRACT: Variability in host resistance or tolerance to parasites is nearly ubiquitous, and is of key significance in understanding the evolutionary processes shaping host-parasite interactions. While ample research has been conducted on the genetics of parasite burden in livestock, relatively little has been done in free-living populations. Here, we investigate the sources of (co)variation in strongyle nematode faecal egg count (FEC) and body condition in Sable Island horses, a feral population in which parasite burden has previously been shown to negatively correlate with body condition. We used the quantitative genetic "animal model" to understand the sources of (co)variation in these traits, and tested for impacts of an important spatial gradient in habitat quality on the parameter estimates. A

SUBMITTER: Gold S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6462499 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature