Continental vs. tropical breed: Immunity comparison under heat stress conditions utilizing qRT-PCR technique

Abstract

Understanding the responses of animals to seasonal heat stress on the genomic level has led to the identification of genes implicated in thermal stress reaction mechanisms. In this study, the relative gene expression of Interleukin-10 (IL-10), an anti-inflammatory cytokine and biomarker for heat stress-mediated immune modulation, was observed during the summer and winter seasons in continental and tropical sheep breeds, namely, Hungarian Indigenous Tsigai and White Dorper, employing quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Temperature-humidity indices (THI) were calculated to assess heat stress levels. The results indicate that IL-10 CT-values were significantly higher during the summer, when heat stress prevails, in both sheep breeds compared to winter. While the White Dorper exhibited a higher numerical value for the summer relative gene expression ratio (16.2) compared to the Hungarian Indigenous Tsigai (12.3), no significant differences in CT values were observed between breeds or among sexes. These findings suggest the immune-adaptive characteristics of the two sheep breeds during seasonal heat stress. The variation of IL-10 gene expression levels between the two breeds can be attributed to their geographical origins; the White Dorper emerging from arid subtropical South Africa and the Hungarian Indigenous Tsigai Sheep thriving in the seasonally harsh Carpathian climate for centuries.