Genetic Association of MHC-DRB1 Allelic Diversity with Strongyle Resistance in Osmanabadi Goats

A study was conducted to investigate the association between the MHC-DRB1 gene and strongyle resistance in Osmanabadi goats. Blood and faecal samples were collected from 84 unrelated Osmanabadi goats. Genotyping of DRB1 gene exon 2 was performed by polymerase chain reaction - restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). The genotypic frequencies for AA, AB and BB genotypes were 0.4286, 0.3928 and 0.1786, respectively. The allele frequencies in the population for A and B were 0.625 and 0.375 respectively. Goats with genotype AA had significantly (P<0.01) higher log faecal egg counts (6.57±0.13), compared to AB (6.22±0.11) and BB (6.05±0.12) genotypes. Genotype and season were the primary factors that influenced parasitic resistance (P<0.01). Parasitic load showed significant (P<0.01) seasonal fluctuations, attaining a peak during the monsoon (6.90±0.11) season. The results demonstrate that the BB genotype is a key determinant of resilience and prioritising the BB genotype in selection programmes can reduce parasitic load in Osmanabadi goats.