Open AccessComprehensive RNA-Seq profiling of the lung transcriptome of Bashbay sheep in response to experimental Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae infection
Author(s) -
Zhenhua Du,
Yanming Sun,
Jixue Wang,
Haiyan Liu,
Yi Yang,
Ning Zhao
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0214497
Subject(s) - biology , transcriptome , kegg , gene , gene expression profiling , rna seq , gene expression , microbiology and biotechnology , genetics
The Bashbay sheep ( Ovis aries ), an indigenous breed of Xinjiang, China, has many excellent characteristics. It is resistant to Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae infection, the causative agent of mycoplasma ovipneumonia, a chronic respiratory disease that is harmful to the sheep industry. To date, knowledge regarding the mechanisms responsible for M . ovipneumoniae pathogenesis in scant. Herein, we report the results of transcriptome profiling of lung tissues from Bashbay sheep experimentally infected with an M . ovipneumoniae strain at 4 and 14 days post-infection, in comparison to mock-infected animals (0 d). Transcriptome profiling was performed by deep RNA sequencing, using the Illumina platform. The analysis of differentially expressed genes was performed to determine concomitant gene-specific temporal patterns of mRNA expression in the lungs after M . ovipneumoniae infection. We found 1048 differentially expressed genes (575 up-regulated, 473 down-regulated) when comparing transcriptomic data at 4 and 0 days post-infection, and 2823 (1362 up-regulated, 1461 down-regulated) when comparing 14 versus 0 days post-infection. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis showed that the differentially expressed genes at 4 and 14 versus 0 days post-infection were enriched in 245 and 287 pathways, respectively, and the Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling pathway was considered most closely related to MO infection (p < 0.01). Two pathways (LAMP-TLR2/TLR6-MyD88-MKK6-AP1-IL1B and LAMP-TLR8MyD88-IRF5-RANTES) were identified based on the TLR signaling pathway from differentially expressed genes related M . ovipneumoniae infection. Gene Ontology analysis showed that differentially expressed genes in different groups were enriched for 1580 and 4561 terms, where those most closely related to M . ovipneumoniae infection are positive regulators of inflammatory responses (p < 0.01). These results could aid in understanding how M . ovipneumoniae infection progresses in the lungs and may provide useful information regarding key regulatory pathways.