BioProject

Marek’s disease (MD), caused by Marek’s disease virus (MDV), remains an economically significant threat to the poultry industry worldwide. More...

Marek’s disease (MD), caused by Marek’s disease virus (MDV), remains an economically significant threat to the poultry industry worldwide. Genetic resistance to MD is a promising alternative strategy to augment current control measures (vaccination and management). However, only a few functional genes reportedly conferring MD resistance have been identified. The present study was designed to explore genome-wide gene expression profiles, to identify and compare differentially expressed genes two genetically divergent lines (63 and 72) of chickens in response to challenge of a very virulent plus strain of MDV. Highly inbred specific pathogen-free chickens from both lines were sampled for the challenge trial. Spleen tissues were collected from both MDV challenged and control groups at 5-day post MDV challenge. Total RNA samples were analyzed by next generation sequencing. Less...