Genetic and management solutions for lameness-associated endemic diseases in dairy cattle

奶牛跛行是一种令人虚弱和痛苦的状况，被描述为奶牛福利受损的最明显迹象之一，也是非自愿转移和更换动物的最重要原因之一。没有其他常见的疾病与这种明显的疼痛迹象有关，因此，除了给动物造成严重的痛苦外，跛行还损害了公众对畜牧业的看法，并对声誉构成了巨大的威胁。我们在这里提出的项目将整理来自不同来源的大量牛跛行数据，包括英国修脚机、牛奶记录机构、BBSRC以前资助的工作，以及人工智能支持的视频分析。这项工作将建立在利物浦大学开展的工作的基础上，由AHDB和BBSRC资助，并将得到一些关键的行业合作伙伴的支持。我们的具体目标是：1.整理来自各种互补来源的跛行相关数据，并开发一个独特的、全面的牛羔数据库。对现有的和新的跛行相关表型进行遗传和基因组分析。开发新的策略，将研究的跛行表型纳入生物驱动的育种计划。使用生成的数据库为英国奶农提供更多的管理见解。通过实施科学研究支持的广泛知识交流(KE)计划，实现广泛和迅速的影响。目标1中生成的独特数据库将用于多种动物性状的遗传和基因组分析，这些性状与动物对与牛跛行有关的地方性疾病的抵抗力有关，旨在产生新的和丰富支持选择性育种和遗传改良的现有工具。然后将根据这些结果评估不同的育种策略，并确定它们在控制跛行方面的有效性。该数据库还将用于产生管理见解和制定相关做法，供农场使用。更具体地说，我们将：1)开发跛行流行病学模式分析工具，2)开发预测单个动物未来跛行状态的模型，以及3)量化跛行对未来农场性能的影响。这些新颖的分析工具将使农民能够更好地管理他们牛群中的跛行。为这项提议而合作的行业合作伙伴共同提供了一套令人印象深刻的知识交流(KE)网络、机会和农民培训平台。与研究团队相结合，这项建议还结合了为农民和兽医提供多样化的KE活动的丰富经验。随着该项目的成果投入使用，这个由研究和行业合作伙伴组成的极具影响力的联盟将能够为农民、修脚师和兽医提供协调一致的沟通和广泛、高质量的培训和支持。

Cattle lameness is a debilitating and painful condition, and is described as one of the clearest indicators of compromised welfare in dairy cattle and one of the most important causes of involuntary removal and replacement of animals. No other common condition is associated with such visible signs of pain and, as such, in addition to inflicting serious grief to the animal, lameness also damages the public's perception of the livestock industry and poses a huge reputational threat. The project we propose here will collate large amounts of cattle lameness data from different sources, including UK foot trimmers, milk recording agencies, previous BBSRC funded work, and video analytics empowered by artificial intelligence. This effort will build upon work conducted by the University of Liverpool and funded by AHDB and BBSRC and will be supported by a number of key industry partners. Our specific objectives are:1. To collate lameness associated data from various complementary sources and develop a unique, comprehensive database for cattle lameness.2. To perform genetic and genomic analyses of current and novel lameness-related phenotypes.3. Develop novel strategies to incorporate the studied lameness phenotypes in biology-driven breeding programmes.4. Use the generated database to offer additional management insights to UK dairy farmers.5. Achieve widespread and rapid impact via an extensive knowledge exchange (KE) programme underpinned by implementation science research.The unique database generated in Objective 1 will be used for the genetic and genomic analyses of multiple animal traits related to animal resistance to endemic diseases associated with cattle lameness, aiming to generate new and enrich existing tools underpinning selective breeding and genetic improvement. Different breeding strategies will then be evaluated, based on these results, and their efficacy in controlling lameness will be determined. The database will be also used to generate management insights and develop relevant practices for on-farm use. More specifically, we will: 1) develop a lameness epidemiological pattern analysis tool, 2) develop models that will predict future lameness status of an individual animal, and 3) quantify the impact of lameness on future farm performance. These novel analytical tools will allow farmers to better manage lameness in their herds. Together, the industry partners collaborating for this proposal, provide an impressive suite of well-established knowledge exchange (KE) networks, opportunities and farmer training platforms. In combination with the research team, this proposal also unites a wealth of experience in delivering a diverse range of KE activities to farmers and vets. As the outputs from the project become available for use, this highly influential coalition of research and industry partners will be able to provide harmonized communications and widespread, high quality training and support for farmers, foot trimmers and vets.