Abstract
ABSTRACT The bursa of Fabricius (BF) is the central humoral immune organ unique to birds. The present study investigated the possible difference on a molecular level between two duck breeds. The digital gene expression profiling (DGE) technology was used to enrich the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in BF between the Jianchang and Nonghua-P strains of ducks. DGE data identified 195 DEGs in the bursa. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis suggested that DEGs were mainly enriched in the metabolic pathways and ribosome components. Pathways analysis identified the spliceosome, RNA transport, RNA degradation process, Jak-STAT signaling pathway, TNF signaling pathway and B cell receptor signaling pathway. The results indicated that the main difference in the BF between the two duck strains was in the capabilities of protein formation and B cell development. These data have revealed the main divergence in the BF on a molecular level between genetically different duck breeds and may help to perform molecular breeding programs in poultry in the future.
Highlights
The bursa of Fabricius (BF) is the central humoral immune organ unique to birds, and it distinguishes the avian immune system from that of other species
The BF organ index, serum concentration of IFN-γ and percentage of IgG in the total protein were investigated to detect the difference in immunity function of the BF between JCH and Nonghua P (NH-P) ducks
The genes of interest were selected based on the list of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) identified from the digital gene expression profiling (DGE) data (Table 3), and their sequence was downloaded from the published duck genome (BGI_duck_1.0 reference Annotation Release 101)
Summary
The bursa of Fabricius (BF) is the central humoral immune organ unique to birds, and it distinguishes the avian immune system from that of other species. In 1956, Bruce Glick revealed the importance of the BF in antibody production for the first time (Glick et al, 1956). It has been established that the BF plays a central role in B cell development and antibody production; in contrast to mammals where the immature B cells are mainly formed in the bone marrow (Osmond, 1986). Understanding B cell development in the context of the microenvironment is necessary to understand B cell biology. McCarthy et al considered the entire BF organ as a model to investigate B cell biology in chickens using proteomics. This study identified 1753 B cell specific proteins, 1972 stroma specific proteins and 1473 proteins expressed in both tissue types (McCarthy et al, 2006)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
