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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #383761
Research Project: Evaluation of Swine Immunity and Development of Novel Immune and Genomic Intervention Strategies to Prevent and/or Treat Respiratory Diseases of Swine

Location: Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory

Title: Associations of natural variation in the cd163 and other candidate genes on host response of nursery pigs to PRRSV infection

Author
item DONG, Q - Iowa State University
item DUNKELBERGER, J - Topigs Norsvin
item LIM, K-S - Iowa State University
item Lunney, Joan
item TUGGLE, CK - Iowa State University
item ROWLAND, RRR - University Of Illinois
item DEKKERS, JCM - Iowa State University

Submitted to: Journal of Animal Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/10/2021
Publication Date: 9/27/2021
Citation: Dong, Q., Dunkelberger, J., Lim, K., Lunney, J.K., Tuggle, C., Rowland, R., Dekkers, J. 2021. Associations of natural variation in the cd163 and other candidate genes on host response of nursery pigs to PRRSV infection. Journal of Animal Science. 1-54. https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skab274.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skab274

Interpretive Summary: Pigs with complete resistance to porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) virus (PRRSV) have been produced by genetically knocking out the CD163 gene, which encodes as a receptor of the PRRS virus for entry into macrophages. The objectives of this study were to evaluate associations of naturally occurring SNPs in the CD163 gene and in three other candidate genes (CD169, RGS16, and TRAF1) with host response to PRRSV-only infection and to PRRS vaccination and PRRSV/porcine circovirus 2b (PCV2b) co-infection. SNPs in the CD163 gene were not included on SNP genotyping panels that were used for previous genome-wide association analyses of these data. An additional objective was to identify the potential interaction of these four candidate genes with a mutation in the GBP5 gene that was previously identified to be associated with host response to PRRSV infection. Several SNPs in the CD163, CD169, and RGS16 genes were significantly associated with host response under PRRSV-only and/or PRRSV/PCV2b co-infection. The effect of all SNPs that were significant in the PRRSV-only infection trials depended on genetic background. The effects of some SNPs in the CD163, CD169, and RGS16 genes depended on genotype at the putative causative mutation in the GBP5 gene, which indicates a potential biological interaction between these genes and GBP5. In addition, genome-wide association results for the PRRSV-only infection trials revealed that SNPs near the TRAF1 gene, in the CDK5RAP2 and MEGF9 genes, had suggestive effects on PRRS viral load, which indicates that these SNPs might contribute to PRRSV neuropathogenesis. In conclusion, natural genetic variants in the CD163, CD169, and RGS16 genes are associated with resistance to PRRSV and/or PCV2b infection and appear to interact with the resistance quantitative trait locus in the GBP5 gene. The identified SNPs can be used to select for increased natural resistance to PRRSV and/or PRRSV-PCV2b co-infection.

Technical Abstract: Pig breeders aim to produce healthy, disease resistant pigs. Today's breeders use genetic variants termed single-nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs, to select the best parents. This research tested for natural genetic variants in important disease genes (CD163, CD169, RGS16) that encode receptors for two major viral infections, porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) and/or porcine circovirus 2b (PCV2b). We identified several SNPs associated with viral resistance and/or improved growth traits after infection. The identified SNPs can now be used to select for increased natural resistance to viral infections.