近日,，《自然—遺傳學》期刊發(fā)表了鴨基因組的全序列,，并找出令鴨子對禽流感產生免疫反應的遺傳基因,。此一發(fā)現(xiàn)將有助科學家進一步了解水禽的免疫保護機制。
最近出現(xiàn)的H5N1亞型禽流感病毒已在家禽中廣泛散布,，而鴨子更被視為此病毒的天然宿主,。早期的研究顯示，鴨子能在毫無癥狀的情況下傳播流感病毒,。
李寧和他的研究團隊為一只來自北京的雌性鴨子作出了基因測序,。與其他鳥類和哺乳動物的基因組相比，鴨子的基因組所包含的免疫基因明顯較少,，數(shù)量與雞和斑胸草雀的基因組相似,。作者比較了受高致病性和低致病性H5N1病毒感染的鴨子，發(fā)現(xiàn)其肺部組織的基因表達會因病毒感染而有所改變,。他們還確認了那些遺傳因素能令鴨子成為禽流感病毒的天然宿主,，例如鳥類和哺乳動物的β-防御素。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦英文摘要：
Nature Genetics doi:10.1038/ng.2657
The duck genome and transcriptome provide insight into an avian influenza virus reservoir species
Yinhua Huang, Yingrui Li, David W Burt, Hualan Chen, Yong Zhang, Wubin Qian, Heebal Kim, Shangquan Gan, Yiqiang Zhao, Jianwen Li, Kang Yi, Huapeng Feng, Pengyang Zhu, Bo Li, Qiuyue Liu, Suan Fairley, Katharine E Magor, Zhenlin Du, Xiaoxiang Hu, Laurie Goodman, Hakim Tafer, Alain Vignal, Taeheon Lee, Kyu-Won Kim, Zheya Sheng
The duck (Anas platyrhynchos) is one of the principal natural hosts of influenza A viruses. We present the duck genome sequence and perform deep transcriptome analyses to investigate immune-related genes. Our data indicate that the duck possesses a contractive immune gene repertoire, as in chicken and zebra finch, and this repertoire has been shaped through lineage-specific duplications. We identify genes that are responsive to influenza A viruses using the lung transcriptomes of control ducks and ones that were infected with either a highly pathogenic (A/duck/Hubei/49/05) or a weakly pathogenic (A/goose/Hubei/65/05) H5N1 virus. Further, we show how the duck's defense mechanisms against influenza infection have been optimized through the diversification of its β-defensin and butyrophilin-like repertoires. These analyses, in combination with the genomic and transcriptomic data, provide a resource for characterizing the interaction between host and influenza viruses.
