Does a hypersensitive immune response to helminth infection at duodenum make Merino sheep susceptible to diarrhoea?

Purpose:To explore the underlying biological mechanisms relating to development and control of diarrhoea, we compared sheep that were prone to develop diarrhoea with sheep that were not prone. Methods:Transcriptomes in the tissues of Merino sheep where the parasites were located were analyzed using RNASeq. Functional enrichment of DEGs using GO terms in biological processes and KEGG pathways were studied. PPI (protein-protein interaction) network and sub-network were studied using clusterONE plugin in Cytoscape. Result and conclusion: Our results indicate that suppression of 'immune response', 'antigen processing and presentation', and a list of biological functional terms related to 'suppression in immune tolerance and activation of repair processes associated with tissue damage, including 'extracellular matrix organization', 'collagen fibril organization', 'tissue morphogenesis', 'circulatory system development', 'morphogenesis of an epithelium', and 'focal adhesion' were associated with high-diarrhoea phenotype. The genes with important roles in the responses to helminth infection could be targeted in breeding programs to prevent diarrhoea. Overall design: Four biological replicates in each of High-diarrhoea (HD) and Low-diarrhoea (LD) group were used. LD group was used as a control group.