Selection for immune response in goats: the antibody response to diphtheria toxoid after 12 years of selection.

A herd of Norwegian dairy goats was subject to selection for high and low antibody response to diphtheria toxoid for 12 yr, or approximately 5.5 generations because sires were used for one mating season, whereas dams were used several years. The herd comprised approximately 100 milking goats. Only sires were tested and selected, five to seven sires were used in each line each year, and the percentage of male kids used for breeding varied between 15 and 50%. The mean phenotypic values of the lines diverged until the 4th yr, but the lines did not diverge any further. The means of both lines decreased during the experimental period. The restricted maximum likelihood (REML) estimate of the heritability of the trait in the base population was .19, whereas the realized heritability approached zero in the last six cycles of selection. Using the REML-estimate of heritability in an individual animal model, the mean breeding values (BLUP) of the lines were significantly different. The difference in mean BLUP values between the lines increased throughout the study. Yet, this increase was only 40% from the 2nd to the 12th yr. No effect of a major gene was observed in a test based on individual BLUP.