Gallus gallus breed:White Leghorns Transcriptome or Gene expression

Marek's disease (MD), caused by Marek's disease virus (MDV), remains an economically significant threat to the poultry industry worldwide. Genetic resistance to MD is a promising alternative strategy to augment current control measures (vaccination and management). However, only a few functional genes reportedly conferring MD resistance have been identified. The present study was designed to explore genome-wide gene expression profiles, to identify and compare differentially expressed genes two genetically divergent lines (63 and 72) of chickens in response to challenge of a very virulent plus strain of MDV. Highly inbred specific pathogen-free chickens from both lines were sampled for the challenge trial. Spleen tissues were collected from both MDV challenged and control groups at 5-day post MDV challenge. Total RNA samples were analyzed by next generation sequencing.