Transgenerational epigenetic inheritance and immunity in chickens that vary in Marek's disease resistance

Marek's disease virus (MDV), a naturally oncogenic, highly contagious alpha herpesvirus, induces a T cell lymphoma in chickens that causes severe economic loss. Marek's disease (MD) outcome in an individual is attributed to genetic and environmental factors. Further investigation of the ho...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Poultry science 2023-12, Vol.102 (12), p.103036-103036, Article 103036
Main Authors: He, Yanghua, Taylor, Robert L., Bai, Hao, Ashwell, Christopher M., Zhao, Keji, Li, Yaokun, Sun, Guirong, Zhang, Huanmin, Song, Jiuzhou
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
disease resistance
epigenetics
GENETICS AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
immunity
Marek's disease
transgenerational epigenetic inheritance
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Summary:Marek's disease virus (MDV), a naturally oncogenic, highly contagious alpha herpesvirus, induces a T cell lymphoma in chickens that causes severe economic loss. Marek's disease (MD) outcome in an individual is attributed to genetic and environmental factors. Further investigation of the host-virus interaction mechanisms that impact MD resistance is needed to achieve greater MD control. This study analyzed genome-wide DNA methylation patterns in 2 highly inbred parental lines 63 and 72 and 5 recombinant congenic strains (RCS) C, L, M, N, and X strains from those parents. Lines 63 and 72, are MD resistant and susceptible, respectively, whereas the RCS have different combinations of 87.5% Line 63 and 12.5% Line 72. Our DNA methylation cluster showed a strong association with MD incidence. Differentially methylated regions (DMRs) between the parental lines and the 5 RCS were captured. MD-resistant and MD-susceptible markers of DNA methylation were identified as transgenerational epigenetic inheritable. In addition, the growth of v-src DNA tumors and antibody response against sheep red blood cells differed among the 2 parental lines and the RCS. Overall, our results provide very solid evidence that DNA methylation patterns are transgenerational epigenetic inheritance (TEI) in chickens and also play a vital role in MD tumorigenesis and other immune responses; the specific methylated regions may be important modulators of general immunity.
ISSN:0032-5791
1525-3171
DOI:10.1016/j.psj.2023.103036