Genetic and non-genetic factors distinctly shape the variation of the immune response in cattle

Increasing agricultural production while reducing the reliance on synthetic inputs such as antibiotics is an important challenge. For cattle breeding, this implies better understanding the genetics underlying meat production and the immune response. Here, we use systems immunology to investigate the genetic and environmental drivers of immune variation in Belgian White Blue male cattle, a breed historically bred for meat production. While seasonality and other non-genetic factors account for much of the immune variation observed, genome-wide association studies identify loci with major effects on specific immunophenotypes. Genetics also emerges as the primary driver of cytokine production. Finally, we develop a predictive model linking genetic data to cytokine responses. Our findings support the selection of cattle with improved immunity and advance our understanding of mammalian immune variation.

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Publication Details

Journal
Nature Communications
Published
2026-01-15
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-68234-x
Primary Topic
Genetic and phenotypic traits in livestock
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Genetic and non-genetic factors distinctly shape the variation of the immune response in cattle

Françoise Myster, R Sandor, Carole Charlier, Mihai Gheorghe Netea et al.
Nature Communications
Genetic and phenotypic traits in livestock
article

Genetic and non-genetic factors distinctly shape the variation of the immune response in cattle

Françoise Myster, R Sandor, Carole Charlier, Mihai Gheorghe Netea, Patrick Mayeres, Gabriel Costa Monteiro Moreira, Justine Javaux, José Luis Gualdrón Duarte, Marc Dive, Tom Druet, Shifang Li, Laurent Gillet, Philippe Crepin, Lijing Tang, Michel Georges, Célia Darimont
article en

Abstract

Increasing agricultural production while reducing the reliance on synthetic inputs such as antibiotics is an important challenge. For cattle breeding, this implies better understanding the genetics underlying meat production and the immune response. Here, we use systems immunology to investigate the genetic and environmental drivers of immune variation in Belgian White Blue male cattle, a breed historically bred for meat production. While seasonality and other non-genetic factors account for much of the immune variation observed, genome-wide association studies identify loci with major effects on specific immunophenotypes. Genetics also emerges as the primary driver of cytokine production. Finally, we develop a predictive model linking genetic data to cytokine responses. Our findings support the selection of cattle with improved immunity and advance our understanding of mammalian immune variation.

Nature CommunicationsVol. 17(1)
Radboud University Nijmegen (NL), Radboud University Medical Center (NL), Genomics Medicine (Ireland) (IE), Institut Supérieur Agronomique et Vétérinaire Valéry Giscard d'Estaing (GN), Agence Wallonne du Patrimoine (BE), Sage (United Kingdom) (GB)
Fonds De La Recherche Scientifique - FNRS, Fonds pour la Formation à la Recherche dans l’Industrie et dans l’Agriculture, European Regional Development Fund
Zero hunger
Openalex Percentile: Top 88%
Genetic and phenotypic traits in livestock
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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