title: Transcriptome analysis of the endangered Chinese giant salamander (Andrias davidianus): Immune modulation in response to Aeromonas hydrophila infection.
abstract: The endangered Chinese giant salamander (Andrias davidianus) is the largest extant amphibian species. Disease outbreaks represent one of the major factors threatening A. davidianus populations in the wild and the viability of artificial breeding programmes. Development of future immune therapies to eliminate infectious disease in A. davidianus is dependent on a thorough understanding of the immune mechanisms elicited by pathogen encounters. To this end we have undertaken, for the first time in amphibians, differential transcriptome analysis of the giant salamander response to Aeromonas hydrophila, one of the most devastating pathogens affecting amphibian populations. Out of 87,204 non-redundant consensus unigenes 19,216 were annotated, 6834 of which were upregulated and 906 down-regulated following bacterial infection. 2058 unigenes were involved with immune system processes, including 287 differentially expressed unigenes indicative of the impact of bacterial infection on several innate and adaptive immune pathways in the giant salamander. Other pathways not directly associated with immune-related activity were differentially expressed, including developmental, structural, molecular and growth processes. Overall, this work provides valuable insights into the underlying immune mechanisms elicited during bacterial infection in amphibians that may aid in the future development of disease control measures in protecting the Chinese giant salamander. With the unique position of amphibians in the transition of tetrapods from aquatic to terrestrial habitats, our study will also be invaluable towards the further understanding of the evolution of tetrapod immunity.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Aquaculture and Ecology of Coastal Pools in Jiangsu Province, Department of Ocean Technology, Yancheng Institute of Technology, Yancheng, Jiangsu 224051, China; School of Ocean and Biological Engineering, Yancheng Institute of Technology, Yancheng, Jiangsu 224051, China. Electronic address: qizhitao@ycit.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Zhitao
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.affiliation: School of Ocean and Biological Engineering, Yancheng Institute of Technology, Yancheng, Jiangsu 224051, China.
authors.forename: Qihuan
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Aquaculture and Ecology of Coastal Pools in Jiangsu Province, Department of Ocean Technology, Yancheng Institute of Technology, Yancheng, Jiangsu 224051, China; School of Ocean and Biological Engineering, Yancheng Institute of Technology, Yancheng, Jiangsu 224051, China.
authors.forename: Zisheng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Aquaculture and Ecology of Coastal Pools in Jiangsu Province, Department of Ocean Technology, Yancheng Institute of Technology, Yancheng, Jiangsu 224051, China.
authors.forename: Tianyi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Scottish Fish Immunology Research Centre, School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Tillydrone Avenue, Aberdeen AB24 2TZ, UK.
authors.forename: Jason W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Holland
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China. Electronic address: gaoqian@ihb.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Gao
mesh_terms: D016980:Aeromonas hydrophila / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D002681:China; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D016905:Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000662:veterinary*; D014562:Caudata / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology*
keywords: Aeromonas hydrophila; Bacterial infection; Chinese giant salamander; Immune modulation; Transcriptome sequencing