Constitutive Variation in Hepatic Expression of Porcine Innate Immune Genes Associated with Novel Promoter Polymorphisms
Constitutive Variation in Hepatic Expression of Porcine Innate Immune Genes Associated with Novel Promoter Polymorphisms By Heindrich Nicolaas Snyman A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of Graduate Studies of The University of Guelph In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Veterinary Science Guelph, Ontario, Canada © Heindrich Nicolaas Snyman, November, 2013 ABSTRACT CONSTITUTIVE VARIATION IN HEPATIC EXPRESSION OF PORCINE INNATE IMMUNE GENES ASSOCIATED WITH NOVEL PROMOTER POLYMORPHISMS Heindrich N. Snyman Advisor University of Guelph, 2013 Dr. Brandon Lillie Infectious diseases are an important factor limiting production, growth performance, economics and animal welfare in the global swine industry. Numerous pathogenic, environmental and host genetic factors contribute to infectious disease susceptibility, including defects in the innate immune system. The secreted, membrane-bound and intracellular proteins of the innate immune system are critical components in the defense against infectious pathogens, especially in young pigs. Previous studies have identified a number of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the innate immune genes of pigs, some of which are more frequent in pigs with economically important infectious diseases such as enteritis, serositis and pneumonia. Additional novel genetic differences (SNPs, insertions, deletions or other genetic variations) that alter the expression and/or function of important resistance-conferring innate immune proteins could, together with previously identified markers, form the basis for future development of genetic selection strategies aimed at increasing innate disease resistance in pigs. In this thesis, genome-wide expression analysis and DNA sequencing were used to screen for polymorphisms that were associated with decreased or increased expression of selected innate immune genes in the liver of healthy market weight pigs.
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