title: Leukocyte transcriptome from chickens infected with avian pathogenic Escherichia coli identifies pathways associated with resistance.
abstract: Avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) causes colibacillosis, which is responsible for morbidity and mortality in chickens. Gene expression patterns have previously been demonstrated to differ between chicken populations that are resistant vs. susceptible to bacterial infection, but little is currently known about gene expression response to APEC. Increased understanding of gene expression patterns associated with resistance will facilitate genetic selection to increase resistance to APEC. Male broiler chicks were vaccinated at 2 weeks of age and challenged with APEC at 4 weeks of age. Peripheral blood leukocytes were collected at 1 and 5 day post-infection. Lesions on the liver, pericardium, and air sacs were used to assign a mild or severe pathology status to non-vaccinated, challenged chicks. Ten treatment groups were therefore generated with a priori factors of vaccination, challenge, day post-infection, and the a posteriori factor of pathology status. Global transcriptomic response was evaluated using the Agilent 44K chicken microarray. APEC infection resulted in more up-regulation than down-regulation of differentially expressed genes. Immune response and metabolic processes were enriched with differentially expressed genes. Although vaccination significantly reduced lesions in challenged bird, there was no detectable effect of vaccination on gene expression. This study investigated the transcriptomic differences in host responses associated with mild vs. severe pathology, in addition to the effects of vaccination and challenge, thus revealing genes and networks associated with response to APEC and providing a foundation for future studies on, and genetic selection for, genetic resistance to APEC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA.
authors.forename: Erin E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Sandford
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA.
authors.forename: Megan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Orr
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA.
authors.forename: Mandy
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shelby
authors.affiliation: Department of Poultry Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
authors.forename: Xianyao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Poultry Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
authors.forename: Huaijun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA.
authors.forename: Timothy J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16082, USA.
authors.forename: Subhashinie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kariyawasam
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Preventive Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA.
authors.forename: Lisa K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Nolan
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA.
authors.forename: Susan J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Lamont
keywords: APEC, avian pathogenic Escherichia coli; Avian pathogenic Escherichia coli; Chicken; ExPEC, extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli; Immune response; LB, Luria Bertani; Leukocytes; Microarray; PBL, peripheral blood leukocyte; PBS, phosphate buffered saline; Transcriptome