Innate and adaptive immune genes associated with MERS-CoV infection in dromedaries

The recent SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has refocused attention to the
betacoronaviruses, only eight years after the emergence of another
zoonotic betacoronavirus, the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus
(MERS-CoV). While the wild source of SARS-CoV-2 may be disputed, for
MERS-CoV, dromedaries are considered as source of zoonotic human
infections. Testing 100 immune- response genes in 121 dromedaries from
United Arab Emirates (UAE) for potential association with present MERS-CoV
infection, we identified candidate genes with important functions in the
adaptive, MHC-class I (HLA-A-24-like) and II (HLA-DPB1-like), and innate
immune response (PTPN4, MAGOHB), and in cilia coating the respiratory
tract (DNAH7).