Genomic Selection for Bovine Tuberculosis Resistance in Dairy Cows

Lead Research Organisation: University of Edinburgh
Department Name: The Roslin Institute

Abstract

The bacterium, Mycobacterium bovis, has a major economic, trade, health and welfare impact on the cattle industry worldwide as well as posing a risk to humans, other domesticated, feral and wild animal populations. This pathogen causes the chronic respiratory disease, bovine tuberculosis (bTB), which remains an increasing problem in cattle herds in the UK and Republic of Ireland despite over sixty years of costly eradication programmes. These programmes included the slaughter of animals which are positive for a skin test which indicates that the animal has become infected. Alternative control strategies are urgently needed. Previous studies have suggested that cattle differ genetically in their risk of bTB, opening up the possibility of genetic selection for decreased risk of bTB. Breeding livestock for more favourable traits is becoming faster and more accurate through advances in genomic resources and information, including new genotyping tools such as high density single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) chips. These 'chips' consist of thousands of SNP markers which can relate variation across the genome to variation seen in traits. In our previous BBSRC CEDFAS grant using bTB cases (defined as skin test and lesion positive) and herd-matched Holstein-Friesian controls from Northern Ireland, we could account for ca. 25% of the observed variation in bTB status using chips comprising over 700,000 SNPs. We now propose to build on this information and combine it with datasets derived from other cattle populations in the UK and Republic of Ireland (for which we have obtained reciprocal permission in principle) to develop robust genomic predictors of bTB risk. These could then be directly applied by the cattle industry to select for bTB resistance.

First we will enhance the power of our original study by genotyping a further set of cattle which are skin test positive but lesion negative. This will also enable us to clarify the genetic relationship between this phenotype and our more strict definition of a bTB case. We will then conduct a meta-analysis combining this enriched dataset with that from other sources, and use this large dataset to develop genomic predictors of bTB risk. The results will provide a direct tool to the dairy industry, enabling it to select for increased bTB resistance without a continuing requirement to collect bTB phenotypes from cattle in currently infected herds. In addition, we will ensure that selection for bTB resistance is not detrimental to production traits by determining the genetic relationship of bTB resistance with milk production and other economically important traits in the UK breeding goal.

We also want to find the actual SNPs that lead to the genetic differences we detect in bTB resistance. To do this, we propose to take advantage of the fact that it has now become feasible to sequence whole genomes of individual animals; this usually reveals many novel SNPs. Furthermore, genetic changes due to insertions and deletions (indels and copy number variants) in the DNA sequence are also increasingly associated with variation in traits and may underpin disease resistance as well. In order to investigate this type of variation and also identify SNPs closer to the actual causative SNPs, we propose to resequence animals with the most extreme bTB risk, as determined by the genomic predictors developed in the earlier part of the grant. This information, i.e. identification of the actual DNA changes associated with increased resistance, would improve the accuracy of the genomic predictors across generations and potentially have utility in other breeds. These results will also enable us to explore the underlying basis for resistance to M. bovis infection, which could advance our ability to design further control strategies for this intractable disease.

Technical Summary

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is a chronic respiratory disease caused by the pathogen, Mycobacterium bovis. Despite many years of statutory testing and slaughter, bTB still has major impacts on the health and welfare of UK cattle and the livestock economy. Substantial evidence now exists that the risk of a herd contracting this disease is variable and has a strong genetic component. We propose to build on our recent results from a genome wide association study (GWAS) in which we genotyped ca. 1200 cases and controls for 750,000 SNPs in the major UK dairy breed, the Holstein. We identified a marker-based heritability of 0.24 and chromosome wide significance for specific loci associated with bTB resistance. We now plan to provide accurate genomic predictors for bTB risk which can be directly applied by the dairy industry by combining our current data with additional datasets in a meta-analysis. We will exploit our unique biobank of DNA samples collected from bTB phenotyped cattle from high prevalence herds, to explore whether skin test positive, lesion negative animals have similar or distinct genotypes to our previous case definition of skin test positive, lesion positive animals. Further datasets available from collaborators consist of Holstein sires with estimated breeding values for bTB risk, and another case/control study. These have been genotyped at lower density compared to our samples. The meta-analysis of 5 distinct datasets will enable us to develop enhanced genomic predictors of bTB resistance calibrated by cross-validation, an essential requirement for GWAS studies. Predictors for complex traits in livestock based on whole genome sequencing are now on the horizon; we plan to whole genome sequence selected high and low bTB risk sires to provide novel information that could lead to further accuracy of the predictors as well as identifying novel SNPs closer to the causal loci, potentially identifying putative candidate genes for bTB resistance in cattle.

Planned Impact

The goal of this proposed project is to help tackle the seemingly intractable problem of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in the UK, caused by infection with the bacterium Mycobacterium bovis. This disease has shown a year on year increases in incidence, in cattle herds in both the UK and Republic of Ireland (ROI), especially over the last decade. We aim to take a novel approach to help combat the issue, by providing essential science-led information to the dairy industry, enabling it to utilise advanced genomic breeding tools for selecting for increased resistance to bTB. The major output from this project will be an enhancement of the health, welfare and productivity of UK cattle, adding to food security and contributing toward evidence based policy-making at a national and international level. This leads to both economic and societal impacts, as bTB is a costly and controversial problem for the UK government. It has major economic impacts on the UK livestock industry, especially as the UK does not enjoy bTB-free status, unlike the rest of the EU. Furthermore, the impact of bTB on the farmers dealing with this problem is immensely distressing, with many farms being under statutory restrictions on animal movement for considerable periods of time. Thus, any measures to lessen the disease impact will be beneficial at many levels. Our project will provide information and tools directly applicable to the dairy industry through DairyCo who are supportive and will facilitate the necessary technology transfer. The information provided will enable farmers to avoid using highly bTB susceptible sires and cows, and choose bulls which are expected by genomic prediction to be more bTB resistant. Uptake may be expected to be regional and dependent on individual circumstances, in that use by breeders may well be greatest in high bTB prevalence areas such as Northern Ireland, Wales and South West of England. Utilising accurate genomic predictors would be expected to also have a positive feed-back in that as ever-more resistant bulls are employed in a herd, the overall level of infection should be reduced, resulting in greater herd protection. Furthermore genomic selection for bTB resistance can be used as a complementary control measure alongside other strategies, and could have a positive benefit to other control efforts. Adoption of genomic predictors for bTB resistance would move towards providing a green and sustainable solution to the issue, and thus make major contributions to environmental sustainability, protection and impact reduction. Our proposal should also be seen as public-friendly as it should reduce the emphasis on badger controls and reduce the impacts of the hugely costly test and slaughter schemes. The project also has other benefits. It would have impact on the UK academic community by enhancing the knowledge economy, particularly for those engaged in animal health and agricultural/food production research. The project has potentially even greater benefit to the worldwide farming fraternity as our information will be invaluable in other countries where bTB is rife. It will provide information that could be applicable directly to Holstein-Friesian cattle herds globally, as well as potentially to other breeds of cattle. State-of-the-art technologies will be employed to tackle an important health trait and thus it will represent a proof-of-principle that could be applied to other infectious diseases of livestock. Furthermore, the project will provide training in the latest genomic technologies, and the PDRA employed on the project will become a highly skilled researcher. In summary, this is a proposed project with many direct and indirect benefits. The potential returns on investment for the research should be very high.
 
Description 1. Previously we had conducted a case control genome wide association study (GWAS) of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) resistance, using the illumina bovine HD SNP chip and extreme phenotypes - cases consisted of infected animals as determined by a positive skin test with visible lesions (VL) detected versus animals which tested negative on multiple occasions. This work was published under our previous grant: BB/E018335/1 and BB/E018335/2. bTB herd prevalence was calculated and used as a co-variate in the previous GWAS, resulting in a slightly stronger signal at significant SNPs and a genome-wide heritability of 0.24.

2. A new GWAS has been conducted with cases consisting of infected animals as determined by a positive skin test with no visible lesions (NVL) detected. Although considerable overlap of genomic regions with the earlier study, some genomic loci are distinct. The implication is that the underlying genetics governing bTB infection response and outcome is distinct. This finding further supports the concept of an infection spectrum for bTB.

3. A GWAS has also been conducted using estimated breeding values (EBV) for bTB resistance as the phenotype and the 50K Illumina Bovine chip. Additional regions have been identified, further revealing the complex nature of the genetics of bTB resistance. This study adds confidence that marker -ssisted selection using SNP genotypes (genomic selection) for bTB will be achieved, providing a new option for bTB control in the UK.

4. In the linked project, BB/L004119/1, breeding values using national data based on pedigree records are being used. In the future it will be possible to utilise sire breeding values as a phenotype for genomic breeding values. These gEBVs are readily accepted by the industry and have been received with high expectations. At subsequent KE events, farmers and industry influencers see the availability of TB Advantage as a great step forward in the control of TB.
Exploitation Route bTB resistance breeding values can be produced using genomic markers for both bTB infection states as they share underlying chromosomal variation. Bulls that sire more resistant individuals can be identified to help farmers reduce disease prevalence, particularly in bTB hotspots. The biological pathways of identified genes associated with bTB resistance are potential new targets for bTB control measures. Host genetics controlling infection outcomes could also play a role in tuberculosis infections in other species.
The project serves as a proof-of-principle to genetic improvement for other infectious diseases of cattle such as Johne's disease (paratuberculosis) and bovine respiratory complex and the approach and findings could also be applied to other breeds such as beef breeds.
Sectors Agriculture

Food and Drink

Environment

 
Description 1. Members of the research team, Prof John Woolliams (The Roslin Institute) on the grant and PI Prof Mike Coffey (SRUC) for the related grant (BB/L004119/1) and other colleagues at The Roslin Institute and SRUC have been collaborating with AHDBDairy (formerly DairyCo) to produce an index based on estimated breeding values to "help dairy farmers make informed decisions to breed cows which have an improved resistance to bovine tuberculosis (bTB)" . See: https://dairy.ahdb.org.uk/technical-information/breeding-genetics/tb-advantage/#.WMAXM3qblkg. 2. The results in this grant will provide information necessary for the uptake of marker-assisted selection using SNP genotypes for improved resistance to bTB. In the future we will create a pathway to impact for genomic selection which will build on the genetic evaluation approach. 3. Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) have awarded funds to members of the research team, Drs Robin Skuce and Adrian Allen, to improve reliability of genomic prediction for bTB resistance in cattle, by adding Northern Ireland data to improve the reliability of the phenotypes for bTB. 4. With collaborator Prof Mike Coffey of SRUC a total of 3 closed workshops have been organised and included industry partners and government vets and others involved in TB research from AHDB Dairy, BBSRC, HCC, Defra, APHA, Teagasc and DARDNI. 5. A member of the project team (Professor Mike Coffey) was invited to a closed meeting with Michael Gove on the government's TB policy in January 2018 and in February 2018 the government announced a review of the 25 strategy on TB eradication to allow the inclusion of genetic selection for TB resistance. 6. AHDB Dairy have won a significant award from Innovate UK (£360,000) to genotype 10,000 cows in the TB area and 2000 bulls with TB Advantage proofs to improve the accuracy of genomic predictions.
Sector Agriculture, Food and Drink,Environment,Other
Impact Types Economic

 
Description Animal health and disease and veterinary immune reagents collaboration with USDA
Amount £381,777 (GBP)
Organisation Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 07/2015 
End 08/2018
 
Title Integration of national TB testing data with cattle pedigree and performance data 
Description Nationally collected TB testing results have been integrated into the national genetic evaluation systems for dairy cattle such that the genetics of TB resistance/tolerance in the national herd can be studied as part of the BBSRC Animal health Club research project 
Type Of Material Improvements to research infrastructure 
Provided To Others? No  
Impact Given the system has been developed to integrate with national genetic evaluation systems when the research is completed it is likely to ease the implementation of results for the UK dairy industry - with relevant permissions. 
 
Title Update of TB Advantage to include cow genotytpes in the reference population 
Description AHDB were awarded ~£350,000 to genotype 10,000 cows and 1000 bulls in the TB affected area to add to the reference population for calculation of SNP effects. This also allows us to consider using the 1-step approach which provides greater prediction accuracy. 
Type Of Material Improvements to research infrastructure 
Year Produced 2019 
Provided To Others? No  
Impact accuracy of prediction for TB resistance rises from about 40% to about 54% (depending on the information content for the animal). This has been considered by the EGENES technical advisory group (TAG) and will be rolled out to farmers later in 2019 after AHDB knowledge exchange officers have publicised it. 
 
Title Data from the study Fine-mapping host genetic variation underlying outcomes to Mycobacterium bovis infection in dairy cows 
Description This dataset derives from a study on the host genetic variation in resistance to bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in dairy cattle and relates to genotyping of cattle for bovine tuberculosis. . In total, 1,966 Holstein-Friesian dairy cows were genotyped 777,962 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). After quality control (for specific details see publication) 538,231 autosomal SNPs remained for all animals genotyped. This is case-control data in that phenotypes are binary (0,1), based on outcomes to diagnostic tests. Data files are from the study: Wilkinson et al 2017. Fine-mapping host genetic variation underlying outcomes to Mycobacterium bovis infection in dairy cows. BMC Genomics 18:477. 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2017 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact The results suggest some differing underlying genetics governing observed versus non-observed pathology for bTB infected animals, supporting the notion of a bTB infection spectrum. The implications of complex genetic control of bTB susceptibility may need to be considered in disease control. 
URL https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12864-017-3836-x
 
Title Liz Glass TB_Project 
Description Data and ancillary files from: Genome wide association studies on bovine tuberculosis BBSRC funded projects: CEDFAS initiative grants BB/E018386/1 and BB/E018335/1 and 2; Animal Health Research Club grant BB/L004054/1; Institute Strategic Programme Grants (ISP3 Innate Immunity & Endemic Disease) [BB/J004227/1], (ISP1 Analysis and Prediction in Complex Animal Systems) [BB/J004235/1] 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2017 
Provided To Others? Yes  
 
Title MetaGWAS 
Description Data and ancillary files from: Genome wide association studies on bovine tuberculosis BBSRC funded projects: Genome wide association studies on bovine tuberculosis BBSRC funded projects: CEDFAS initiative grants BB/E018386/1 and BB/E018335/1 and 2; Animal Health Research Club grant BB/L004054/1; Institute Strategic Programme Grants (ISP3 Innate Immunity & Endemic Disease) [BB/J004227/1], (ISP1 Analysis and Prediction in Complex Animal Systems) [BB/J004235/1]. GWAS analysis of combined datasets from various geographically different Holstein-Friesian cattle populations for traits related to resistance to infection from Mycobacterium bovis. 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2018 
Provided To Others? Yes  
 
Title TB Project Genotyping Results 
Description Raw SNP data and ancillary files from genome wide association studies on bovine tuberculosis BBSRC funded projects: CEDFAS initiative grants BB/E018386/1 and BB/E018335/1 and 2; Animal Health Research Club grant BB/L004054/1; Institute Strategic Programme Grants (ISP3 Innate Immunity & Endemic Disease) [BB/J004227/1], (ISP1 Analysis and Prediction in Complex Animal Systems) [BB/J004235/1] and (ISP2 Control of Infectious Diseases) [BB/P013740/1]. Abstract Holstein-Friesian raw SNP data. 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2017 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact Dataset related to publication: 5. Wilkinson, S., Bishop, S.C. Allen, A.R., McBride, S.H., Skuce, R.A., Bermingham, M., Woolliams, J.A. and Glass, E.J. (2017) Fine-mapping host genetic variation underlying outcomes to Mycobacterium bovis infection in dairy cows. BMC Genomics, 18: 477. Dataset linked to Bermingham et al, 2014, Genome-wide association study identifies novel loci associated with resistance to bovine tuberculosis. Heredity, 112, 543-551. 
URL https://www.research.ed.ac.uk/portal/en/datasets/liz-glass-tb-project-genotyping-results(7aa9bca3-a0...
 
Description Collaboration relating to genetics of bovine tuberculosis 
Organisation Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution Secured two rounds of grant funding from BBSRC. Expertise in genome wide association studies.
Collaborator Contribution Epidemiology of bovine TB and data and samples from cases and controls to genotype and analyse.
Impact Multi-disciplinary: AFBI: epidemiology; bovine TB expertise; data analysis; surveillance Roslin: genetics; GWAS; genotyping; immunogenetics; innate immunity; host-pathogen interactions Outputs: See BB/E018335/1 and BB/E018335/2; BB/L004054/1; BB/L004119/1 Publications: Bermingham ML, Handel IG, Glass EJ, Woolliams JA, de Clare Bronsvoort BM, McBride SH..Bishop SC. (2015). Hui and Walter's latent-class model extended to estimate diagnostic test properties from surveillance data: a latent model for latent data. Scientific reports, pp. 11861 Bermingham ML, Bishop SC, Woolliams JA, Pong-Wong R, Allen AR, McBride SH..Glass EJ. (2014). Genome-wide association study identifies novel loci associated with resistance to bovine tuberculosis. Heredity, 112 (5), pp. 543-51 Tsairidou, S. Woolliams, J.A., Allen, A.R., Skuce, R.A., McBride, S.H., Wright, D.M., Bermingham, M.L., Pong-Wong, R., Matika, O., McDowell, S.W., Glass, E.J., Bishop, S.C. Genomic prediction for tuberculosis resistance in dairy cattle (2014) PLoS ONE, 9, e96728. doi:10.1371 Tsairidou S, Woolliams JA, Allen AR, Skuce RA, McBride SH, Wright DM..Bishop SC. (2014). Genomic prediction for tuberculosis resistance in dairy cattle. PloS one, 9 (5), pp. e96728
Start Year 2006
 
Description Collaboration relating to genomic selection for resistance to bovine tuberculosis 
Organisation Scotland's Rural College
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Genotyping and analysing additional animals and phenotypes related to bovine TB. Combining data sets from different sources to conduct a meta-analysis. Sequencing high and low risk sires. Novel SNP discovery.
Collaborator Contribution R and D to underpin development of sustainable systems of livestock production. Responsible for UK implementation of genomic breeding values in dairy cattle. Statistics, genetic and genomic evaluations for bovine TB. Implementation of pedigree based evaluations and genomic evaluations for bovine TB into the routine systems of evaluation and dissemination to industry. Publication: Banos G, Winters M, Mrode R, Mitchell A, Bishop S, Woolliams J..Coffey M. (2017). Genetic evaluation for bovine tuberculosis resistance in dairy cattle. Journal of Dairy Science, 100 (2), pp. 1272-1281
Impact Outputs: See BB/L004119/1 and BB/L004054/1.
Start Year 2014
 
Description Data transfer from DARDNI (DEARA) 
Organisation Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARDNI)
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution We engaged with this department to agree file transfer formats and protocols for NI TB data pertinent to the calculation of TB Advantage EBVs. It is anticipated that these additional data will allow new bulls to get TB Advantage EBVs and will add to the accuracy of existing bulls with daughters in both GB and NI. Our team has been merging these animal records into the routine calculation of TB Advantage by EGENES
Collaborator Contribution The other partners (AFBI) were supportive of the process and assisted in shaping the proposition to DARDNI at the annual workshops
Impact The outcome is that we now have additional data from cows in NI that have bTB records. The data has been received, stored, validated, merged, cleaned, salvaged and the processes all automated by EGENES. The next steps expected over the new few months is to quantify the impact of additional data on TB Advantage and then release new EBVs. This will include higher accuracy EBVs for bulls with existing EBVs and EBVs for bulls with daughters only in NI. Subsequently, an assessment of the impact of additional data on the accuracy of genomic predictions will be made.
Start Year 2016
 
Description UK and Ireland TB resistance workshop 
Organisation Department For Environment, Food And Rural Affairs (DEFRA)
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution We have produced breeding values (TB Advantage) that are now being used by the industry. The production of those gEBVs was through another project funded by AHDB Dairy but the outcomes have been used in this project to identify bulls for sequencing and for GWAS analyses. These gEBVs have been warmly received by industry and have been accepted by Defra as a useful addition to the toolbox for tackling TB
Collaborator Contribution Defra have agreed to fund APHA (internally) to provide continuous BCMS and TB data to allow us to continue producing gEBVs for the next 4 years at least.
Impact The outcomes are a closer relationship between the project and government on a genetic component to the national TB eradication plan
Start Year 2016
 
Description UK and Ireland TB resistance workshop 
Organisation Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARDNI)
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution as before for Defra
Collaborator Contribution DARDNI keep records similar to BCMS and APHA. Currently, these data do not contribute to UK EBVs for TB resistance but following the workshop, we are now discussing how to get Northern Ireland data into the UK system of evaluations.
Impact None yet but it is expected to yield results in 2016.
Start Year 2016
 
Description UK and Ireland TB resistance workshop 
Organisation Government of Scotland
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution We produce national genetic and genomic evaluations that rely on all UK data on cattle. Some of those animals originate in Scotland or end up in Scotland. Whilst there is no TB in Scotland, the availability of UK wide gEBVs for this trait provides selection options for Scottish Farmers
Collaborator Contribution TB evaluations rely on all UK data and Scottish data for CTS is held by BCMS. SG approval is needed to utilise these data and was given for continued use of the data for the purpose of national evaluations for TB resistance.
Impact The main outcome of SG involvement formally is that we now have approval for all devolved administrations for the use of national data in TB evaluations
Start Year 2016
 
Description UK and Ireland TB resistance workshop 
Organisation Teagasc
Department Teagasc Food Research Centre
Country Ireland 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution as for Defra but including the exchange of TB genetic evaluations for comparison with similar breeding values produced on Irish data. This creates sanity checking of results across country and provides confidence in use and outcomes.
Collaborator Contribution Teagasc contributed to the workshop by presenting results from Ireland and subsequently by exchanging genotypes with EGENES to add sires to the UK reference population for TB.
Impact A direct outcome is that the UK reference population increased by around 90 bulls (increase of about 5%) but these bulls were very informative. Increased interaction with Ireland on TB research has resulted.
Start Year 2015
 
Description Workshop in Birmingham 
Organisation Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution I organised this meeting in conjunction with AHDB Dairy and AHDB Beef and Lamb. I chaired the meeting and orchestrated the discussions.
Collaborator Contribution All the partners in the project were represented at the workshop and contributed presentations and discussions.
Impact The main outcome was the discussions on the genetics of TB resistance and its role in reducing the incidence of TB in dairy cattle.
Start Year 2017
 
Description Workshop in Birmingham 
Organisation Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARDNI)
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution I organised this meeting in conjunction with AHDB Dairy and AHDB Beef and Lamb. I chaired the meeting and orchestrated the discussions.
Collaborator Contribution All the partners in the project were represented at the workshop and contributed presentations and discussions.
Impact The main outcome was the discussions on the genetics of TB resistance and its role in reducing the incidence of TB in dairy cattle.
Start Year 2017
 
Description AHDB DairyCo 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Twice yearly meetings were held between SRUC (EGENES) (Project team PI, Prof Mike Coffey & other colleagues) and industry partner AHDB DairyCo for the project on delivering EBVs for bTB resistance in UK dairy cattle.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2015
URL http://dairy.ahdb.org.uk/news/news-articles/january-2016/new-figures-published-today-to-help-cattle-...
 
Description BBC Radio 4 Farming Today 4th March 2015 
Form Of Engagement Activity A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press)
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact Professor Mike Coffey, PI of the research team at SRUC, gave an interview on "TB-Resistant Cows" which was broadcast on the BBC Radio 4 Farming Today programme on 4th March 2015. Prof Coffey described the aims to make more cattle more resistant by natural breeding through genetic selection, information which AHDB DairyCo will provide in terms of a TB index for dairy sires.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2015
URL http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2iry28_bbc-radio-4-farming-today-tb-resistant-cows-4mar15_animals
 
Description BBC World Service Discovery programme 
Form Of Engagement Activity A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press)
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Professor Liz Glass, (The Roslin Institute) PI of research team contributed to "Preventing Disease in Animals", Roslin Institute scientists speaking on the Discovery programme, BBC World Service. 5th Oct 2014. She discussed the potential for breeding for improved resistance to infection with Mycobacterium bovis, the causal agent of bovine tuberculosis.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2014
URL http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0273rbd
 
Description Bovine TB Resistance & Genetics Workshop; Belfast November 2016 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Following the success of the Workshop that the team ran in November 2015 in Cardiff, this was the second 2 day workshop on genetic improvement for bovine tuberculosis (bTB)resistance. The aim of the workshop was to discuss the genetics of bTB and breeding for bTB resistance between academic researchers, industry and government officials. attendees came from England, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and included representatitives from DEFRA, DAERA, AFBI, BBSRC and the Knowledge Transfer Network. The first day of the workshop discussed the current situation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland as well as Ireland; scientific advances in the genetics of bTB in dairy cattle as well as genetic evaluations for bTB resistance in UK and Ireland. The plan to sequence high and low risk sires for bTB resistance was presented. A new topic was discussed that of infectivity and the potential to combine selection for infectivity and susceptibility. The uptake of bTB resistance EBVs through AHDB as "TB Advantage" index was discussed. Future research priorities, including the potential impact of selection on economics and health and welfare of cattle in the dairy industry, potential for EBVs for bTB for beef breeds, interaction with other traits including Johne's disease and sharing of data were also discussed. The workshop further fostered dialogue between government officials, academics and industry on tackling bTB and was found to be useful and informative by all.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
 
Description Bovine TB Resistance & Genetics Workshop; Cardiff November 2015 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact The project team organised a 2 day workshop on bTB resistance held in 18-19 November 2015, Cardiff, UK. The aim of the workshop was to discuss the genetics of bTB and breeding for bTB resistance between not just academic researchers, but also importantly industry and government officials. Attendees included academics from United Kingdom, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and DEFRA, AFBI and representatives from the Welsh Government, BBSRC. The first day of the workshop involved a series of presentations from academics detailing the latest research results on the genetics of bTB resistance and officials describing the current situation on bTB prevalence across parts of the UK and ROI. The second day of the workshop started with presentations on the publications of EBVs for bTB resistance followed by a round-table discussion on bTB issues. Overall, it was shown that a genetic strategy to reduce bTB prevalence is a feasible option and this message was well received and supported. Concerns on the impact of breeding for bTB resistance on response to the tuberculin skin test were discussed. In addition, there were discussions on future directions of research on bTB genetics. The workshop fostered dialogue between government officials, academics and industry on tackling bTB and was found to be useful and informative by all.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2015
 
Description Country Life 
Form Of Engagement Activity A magazine, newsletter or online publication
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Member of the research team Prof Mike Coffey (SRUC) wrote an article entitled; "Super bulls to aid fight against bovine TB" which featured in Country Life magazine, March 2015
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2015
 
Description DARD Northern Ireland Bovine TB Stakeholders Group 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Drs Adrian Allen and Robin Skuce, members of the research team at AFBI, Belfast, and others contributed a presentation to the DARD Northern Ireland Bovine TB Stakeholders Group, entitled "Bovine tuberculosis - can your genes make you sick?" September 2014
The TB Strategic Partnership Group (TBSPG) is an independent advisory group which has been tasked by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development with developing a strategy and implementation action plan to effect a progressive and sustained reduction of TB in the cattle population here, with a view to eventual eradication.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2014
URL https://www.dardni.gov.uk/articles/tb-strategic-partnership-group
 
Description DARD Research Discussion Forum, Stormont, Belfast 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Member of the research team Dr Robin Skuce (AFBI) spoke at a Knowledge transfer at DARD Research Discussion Forum, Stormont, Belfast, on "Bovine Tuberculosis (TB) - Can we breed cattle with increased resistance?" 18th March 2015
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2015
 
Description DARD Veterinary Service Meeting 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Member of the research team, Dr Robin Skuce (AFBI) spoke at a Knowledge transfer at DARD Veterinary Service Senior Principal Veterinary Officers and Divisional Veterinary Offices Meeting, CAFRE Loughry on "Bovine Tuberculosis (TB) - Can we breed cattle with increased resistance?" 19th March 2015
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2015
 
Description Defra scientific and policy staff 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Profs Mike Coffey (SRUC) Dr Marco Winters (DairyCo) and Prof John Woolliams (The Roslin Institute) visited Defra, London to discuss bTB EBV results with Defra scientific and policy staff on 9th April 2015
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2015
 
Description EC Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) auditors 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Members of the research team, Dr Robin Skuce, Dr Adrian Allen (AFBI) and others gave a talk at EC Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) auditors during an audit of the Northern Ireland TB programme (DARDNI) entitled "TB - cattle genetic susceptibility" in 2015.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2015
 
Description Equate Scotland 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Undergraduate students
Results and Impact Scottish Undergraduate women in STEMM subjects attended a "Research Insight" visit organised through INTERCONNECT (http://www.interconnect.org.uk/) and the Scottish Resource Centre for Women on 24th March 2014. Interconnect provides a network for women studying science, engineering, technology and the built environment in Scotland and brings together students, qualified women and employers. The students were welcomed by Prof Liz Glass (The Roslin Institute and PI of the research team), who discussed her research on the genetics of bovine tuberculosis resistance and the prospects for breeding for improved resistance to Mycobacterium bovis infection.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2014
URL http://www.roslin.ed.ac.uk/news/2014/07/
 
Description Northern Ireland Bovine TB Strategic Partnership Group 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Members of the research team, Dr Stuart McDowell, Dr Robin Skuce, Dr Adrian Allen (AFBI) and others gave a talk at the Northern Ireland Bovine TB Strategic Partnership Group entitled "TB - cattle genetic susceptibility" March 2015
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2015
 
Description Radio broadcast 
Form Of Engagement Activity A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press)
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact I was interviewed live on BBC Radio Scotland (Good Morning Scotland) after the publication of a piece written by a journalist based on work undertaken in this project.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-51263839
 
Description Royal Highland Show, June 2015 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Prof Liz Glass and Samantha Wilkinson, PI and member of the research team at The Roslin Institute Contributed a feature on Selection for enhanced bovine TB resistance to The Roslin Institute's "Immune System Focus" at the Royal Highland Show, June 2015.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2015
 
Description SET for Britain 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact This research was chosen through competition to present at the 7th March 2016 SET for Britain Exhibition of Posters. The findings so far from this grant were presented by Dr Samantha Wilkinson, Postdoctoral reseach fellow on the research team. The event engages Members of both Houses of Parliament with current science, engineering and mathematics research being undertaken in the UK by early-career research scientists, engineers and mathematicians. It raises the profile of Britain's early-stage researchers at Westminster.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
URL http://www.setforbritain.org.uk/2016event.asp
 
Description Scottish Dexter Society AGM 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Professor Liz Glass, PI of the research team at The Roslin Institute gave a seminar to farmers attending the Scottish Dexter Society AGM entitled "Bovine tuberculosis & cattle: can host genetics play a role in control?" 25th Jan 2015, at Lasswade, Midlothian.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2015
 
Description The Conversation 
Form Of Engagement Activity A magazine, newsletter or online publication
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Article written by request by Professor Liz Glass (The Roslin Institute and PI for the research team) from The Conversation relating to genetic resistance to bovine tuberculosis and the potential for breeding for improved resistance using marker assisted selection of SNP genotyped cattle. The aim of The Conversation is to facilitate interactions between the academic and research community and the public.

Our team of professional editors work with university and research institute experts to unlock their knowledge for use by the wider public.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2014
URL http://theconversation.com/profiles/liz-glass-117496/articles
 
Description Visit to Defra 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact I attended a meeting with a Defra official to update on a number of issues relating to the current grant and how to extend the reach of the project. We discussed a new proposal to AHDB to extend TB Advantage as applied in dairy cattle to beef. We also discussed a proposition we had previously made to Defra on how the results of this project might be greater through targeted genotyping of specific bulls and through more widespread genotyping of cows from herds with high prevalence of bTB.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description Wellcome Trust Board of Governors and Executive Board 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Supporters
Results and Impact The Wellcome Trust's Board of Governors and Executive Board visited Edinburgh University including the Roslin Institute on 19/20 September. The Post-doc on this grant, Samantha Wilkinson, Smaragda Tsairidou and Adrian Mwonge presented a joint poster on their work on various aspects of bovine TB host genetics, epidemiology and the detection test characteristics.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016