Transcriptome analysis unraveled potential mechanisms of resistance to Haemonchus contortus infection in Merino sheep populations bred for parasite resistance.

ABSTRACT: Haemonchus contortus is one of the most pathogenic gastrointestinal nematodes in small ruminants. To understand molecular mechanisms underlying host resistance to this parasite, we used RNA-sequencing technology to compare the transcriptomic response of the abomasal tissue, the site of the host-parasite interaction, of Merino sheep bred to be either genetically resistant or susceptible to H. contortus infection. Two different selection flocks, the Haemonchus selection flock (HSF) and the Trichostrongylus selection flock (TSF), and each contains a resistant and susceptible line, were studied. The TSF flock was seemingly more responsive to both primary and repeated infections than HSF. A total of 127 and 726 genes displayed a significant difference in abundance between resistant and suscepti

SUBMITTER: Zhang R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6345051 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature