Eimeria maxima-Induced Transcriptional Changes in the Cecal Mucosa of the Broiler Chickens

Apicomplexan protozoans of Eimeria spp. cause coccidiosis, one of the most economically relevant parasitic diseases in chickens. The lack of a complete understanding of molecular mechanisms in host-parasite interaction limits the development of effective control measures. In the present study, RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) was applied to investigate the host mRNA profiles of the cecal mucosa and its contents collected at day 5 post Eimeria maxima (EM) infection.