| dc.description.abstract | Parrot bornaviruses are the etiological agents of proventricular dilatation disease (PDD), a fatal neurologic and gastrointestinal disease in birds. The virus is non-cytopathic, and the clinical presentation associated with the disease is due to inflammation and resulting injuries to the nerves. Mechanisms by which the virus evades and alters the immune system, thus producing disease, are not fully elucidated. To investigate disease caused by parrot bornavirus infections, RNA-seq was used to identify differentially expressed genes in the brains of non-infected (control) and parrot bornavirus 2 (PaBV-2) infected mallard ducks. Our hypothesis was that ducks infected, in ovo, with PaBV-2 differentially express genes associated with the immune system as compared to non-infected ducks. Mallard eggs were inoculated in ovo with PaBV-2 at day 5 of incubation, with control eggs sham inoculated with diluent without virus. At 83 (+/- 2) days post-hatch, ducks were euthanized; serum and cerebellum was collected and stored at -80°C until assayed. RNA from the cerebellar samples was sequenced, then RNA expression was quantified and compared between the groups. Differentially expressed genes with a significant difference (P < 0.01) between the infected and normal control ducks and a greater than or equal 4-fold change in expression were analyzed using Database for Annotation, Visualization, and Integrated Discovery and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genome pathway database. From the samples, 18,146 genes were identified. Using the criteria of a P < 0.01 and a greater than or equal 4-fold change in expression, 41 genes had decreased expression and 9 genes had increased expression in the PaBV-2 infected ducks as compared to control ducks. | en |
