Research article

Transcriptional profiling of cattle infected with Trypanosoma congolense highlights gene expression signatures underlying trypanotolerance and trypanosusceptibility

Grace M O'Gorman¹ , Stephen DE Park¹ , Emmeline W Hill¹ , Kieran G Meade² , Paul M Coussens³ , Morris Agaba⁴ , Jan Naessens⁴ , Stephen J Kemp⁵ and David E MacHugh^1,6

¹Animal Genomics Laboratory, UCD School of Agriculture, Food Science and Veterinary Medicine, UCD College of Life Sciences, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland

²Comparative Immunology Group, School of Biochemistry and Immunology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland

³Department of Animal Science and Center for Animal Functional Genomics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA

⁴International Livestock Research Institute, Box 30709, Nairobi 00100, Kenya

⁵School of Biological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZD, UK

⁶UCD Conway Institute of Biomolecular and Biomedical Research, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, Ireland

author email corresponding author email

BMC Genomics 2009, 10:207doi:10.1186/1471-2164-10-207

Published:	1 May 2009

Abstract

Background

African animal trypanosomiasis (AAT) caused by tsetse fly-transmitted protozoa of the genus Trypanosoma is a major constraint on livestock and agricultural production in Africa and is among the top ten global cattle diseases impacting on the poor. Here we show that a functional genomics approach can be used to identify temporal changes in host peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) gene expression due to disease progression. We also show that major gene expression differences exist between cattle from trypanotolerant and trypanosusceptible breeds. Using bovine long oligonucleotide microarrays and real time quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) validation we analysed PBMC gene expression in naïve trypanotolerant and trypanosusceptible cattle experimentally challenged with Trypanosoma congolense across a 34-day infection time course.

Results

Trypanotolerant N'Dama cattle displayed a rapid and distinct transcriptional response to infection, with a ten-fold higher number of genes differentially expressed at day 14 post-infection compared to trypanosusceptible Boran cattle. These analyses identified coordinated temporal gene expression changes for both breeds in response to trypanosome infection. In addition, a panel of genes were identified that showed pronounced differences in gene expression between the two breeds, which may underlie the phenomena of trypanotolerance and trypanosusceptibility. Gene ontology (GO) analysis demonstrate that the products of these genes may contribute to increased mitochondrial mRNA translational efficiency, a more pronounced B cell response, an elevated activation status and a heightened response to stress in trypanotolerant cattle.

Conclusion

This study has revealed an extensive and diverse range of cellular processes that are altered temporally in response to trypanosome infection in African cattle. Results indicate that the trypanotolerant N'Dama cattle respond more rapidly and with a greater magnitude to infection compared to the trypanosusceptible Boran cattle. Specifically, a subset of the genes analyzed by real time qRT-PCR, which display significant breed differences, could collectively contribute to the trypanotolerance trait in N'Dama.