Differential Expression Co-Associated with Genetic Variants of Two Important Genes for Regulation of Gastrointestinal Parasites

Gastrointestinal parasites are a major production issue with small ruminants such as sheep and goats, significantly affecting feed intake, meat and dairy production, and animal health and fecundity. The issue is getting worse as anthelmintic-resistance spreads globally. Development of techniques for genomic-assisted selection to develop parasite resistant animals would potentially be of great value to livestock producers. A comparative genomic analysis was done between the BALB/C (susceptible for parasite infection) mouse and C57BL/6J mouse (parasite resistant). Several candidate genes were discovered within targeted genomic areas for these strains based on whether they contained non-synonymous SNPs, i.e. single nucleotide polymorphisms that resulted in an amino acid change in the resulting protein. Here we report on two candidate genes that were tested, TLR5 and MUC1.  Toll-like receptor 5 (TLR5) is of particular importance due to its primary role as a signaling molecule in the innate immune system.  Experiments used RT-PCR to test for differential gene expression in mRNA transcript that was localized from small intestine. Results showed a dramatic change in gene expression in this important tissue for GI parasites.  Finding an alternative to anthelmintic drugs is imperative to enhance value of ruminant agricultural products. Being able to breed animals that carry traits for the resistance of gastrointestinal parasites will increase the viability and production of small ruminant agriculture.