Allele-Specific Expression Screening Demonstrates that Variation in Genetic Resistance to Marek's Disease in Chicken is Mainly Controlled at the Transcriptional Level

Abstract Text: Marek’s disease (MD) is a T cell lymphoma disease of chickens induced by the Marek’s disease virus (MDV). Selecting for increased genetic resistance to MD is a control strategy that can augment MD vaccinal protection. To identify genetic markers and gain a better biological understanding, RNA sequencing of spleens obtained from uninfected and MDV-infected experimental layers was conducted. Analysis for allele-specific expression (ASE) in response to viral infection revealed 4,528 SNPs in 3,718 genes in experimental layers, and these ASE SNPs account for ~83% of the genetic variance in an MD resource population and are enriched for genes in the TLR and JAK/STAT signaling pathways. This study supports the important role of transcriptional regulation on genetic resistance to MD. Furthermore, the same strategy can be used in genomic selection to improve MD genetic resistance and other infectious diseases in commercial flocks.

Keywords: chicken, disease resistance, allele-specific expression, GWAS