RNA-Seq Analysis of Peripheral Whole Blood from Dairy Bulls with High and Low Antibody-Mediated Immune Responses—A Preliminary Study
Xiuxin Zhao,
Hanpeng Luo,
Haibo Lu,
Longgang Ma,
Yanqin Li,
Jinhuan Dou,
Junxing Zhang,
Yun Ma,
Jianbin Li,
Yachun Wang
Affiliations
Xiuxin Zhao
Ningxia Key Laboratory of Ruminant Molecular and Cellular Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, Ningxia University, Yinchuan 750021, China
Hanpeng Luo
Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture of China, National Engineering Laboratory of Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Haibo Lu
Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture of China, National Engineering Laboratory of Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Longgang Ma
Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture of China, National Engineering Laboratory of Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Yanqin Li
Institute of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, No. 23788, Gongyebei Road, Jinan 250100, China
Jinhuan Dou
Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture of China, National Engineering Laboratory of Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Junxing Zhang
Ningxia Key Laboratory of Ruminant Molecular and Cellular Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, Ningxia University, Yinchuan 750021, China
Yun Ma
Ningxia Key Laboratory of Ruminant Molecular and Cellular Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, Ningxia University, Yinchuan 750021, China
Jianbin Li
Institute of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, No. 23788, Gongyebei Road, Jinan 250100, China
Yachun Wang
Ningxia Key Laboratory of Ruminant Molecular and Cellular Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, Ningxia University, Yinchuan 750021, China
Enhancing the immune response through breeding is regarded as an effective strategy for improving animal health, as dairy cattle identified as high immune responders are reported to have a decreased prevalence of economically significant diseases. The identification of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) associated with immune responses might be an effective tool for breeding healthy dairy cattle. In this study, antibody-mediated immune responses (AMIRs) were induced by the immunization of hen egg white lysozyme (HEWL) in six Chinese Holstein dairy bulls divided into high- and low-AMIR groups based on their HEWL antibody level. Then, RNA-seq was applied to explore the transcriptome of peripheral whole blood between the two comparison groups. As a result, several major upregulated and downregulated genes were identified and attributed to the regulation of locomotion, tissue development, immune response, and detoxification. In addition, the result of the KEGG pathway analysis revealed that most DEGs were enriched in pathways related to disease, inflammation, and immune response, including antigen processing and presentation, Staphylococcus aureus infection, intestinal immune network for IgA production, cytokine–cytokine receptor interaction, and complement and coagulation cascades. Moreover, six genes (BOLA-DQA5, C5, CXCL2, HBA, LTF, and COL1A1) were validated using RT-qPCR, which may provide information for genomic selection in breeding programs. These results broaden the knowledge of the immune response mechanism in dairy bulls, which has strong implications for breeding cattle with an enhanced AMIR.
