Gene expression during immune response in mallards: A study of candidate genes and sex differences with Real-Time qPCR
(2018) MOBK01 20172Degree Projects in Molecular Biology
- Popular Abstract
- Bird flu: Tracking the virus
It is estimated that a whopping 55 million chickens are eaten every day worldwide. They are a main source of proteins in many corners of the world. In developing countries, 20% of all consumption of protein stems from chickens. The industry is dependent on keeping the poultry healthy and safe for consumption. This huge task involves the suppression of natural phenomenon’s, like the development of avian influenza virus, also known as the bird flu.
Bird flu exists in the wild and is carried by birds and is caused by a virus that is specific to birds. As with any other flu, individuals will get sick but over time get better, but sometimes not, as the body fights the virus trying to get rid of it. The... (More) - Bird flu: Tracking the virus
It is estimated that a whopping 55 million chickens are eaten every day worldwide. They are a main source of proteins in many corners of the world. In developing countries, 20% of all consumption of protein stems from chickens. The industry is dependent on keeping the poultry healthy and safe for consumption. This huge task involves the suppression of natural phenomenon’s, like the development of avian influenza virus, also known as the bird flu.
Bird flu exists in the wild and is carried by birds and is caused by a virus that is specific to birds. As with any other flu, individuals will get sick but over time get better, but sometimes not, as the body fights the virus trying to get rid of it. The struggle against the virus is led by the immune system with its immune cells as soldiers on the frontline. Soldiers, need to be provided with orders about how to handle the enemy. In the body, the orders are delivered in the form of gene expression, where some genes are expressed more during the infection than when there is none. The genes provide the answer to how an immune cell should act and so is also the case of viruses. During the progress of the fight, the virus might mutate its genes, causing it to either perhaps adapting itself to the bodies defence putting up a tougher fight, or the mutation will cause it to change species specificity. As the body fight the virus and force it out, the virus ends up in fluids, for example, saliva and snot. From there it can make its way infecting other individuals. It is the change of specificity that the poultry industry is concerned about because when the virus cross-over from wild animals to domesticated ones, it puts the whole industry in danger. The continuous mutation of the virus might cause the virus to jump yet another step, infecting humans, a scene we have seen too many times. Bird flu is spreading, in the wild, because of migratory birds carrying across the globe. Thus, it is important to be able to track the spread and understand it.
One species of birds that are found in nearly every pond on every continent except Antarctica, is the mallard. It is migratory, thus is contributing to the spread of bird flu and is known to infect poultry, foremost in developing countries. By studying the expression of genes linked to the immune cells, it is possible to know if a bird is infected and how the genes are expressed. Moreover, because the mallards are wild and play a part in the ecosystem, one must study them in a conscious and sustainable way. In this study, we have studied how two immune genes, TLR3 and RIG-I have been expressed in female and male mallards by analysing blood before and after a simulation of bird flu. The expression of the two immune genes was measured with a technique called real-time qPCR. It was shown that the two genes were upregulated after infection in both female and male mallards. There was a different level of expression between the female and male mallards, however not a significant one in statistical terms. This was due to a greater variety of upregulation of both the immune genes in females. The conclusion gives us two immune genes to add to a sought-after pallet with other immune genes required to track and understand bird flu to stop future outbreaks.
Supervisors: Bengt Hansson (Lund University) & Robert Kraus (Max Planck Institute & University of Konstanz)
MOBK01 Bachelor Thesis 15 credits, Lund University
Lund University, Max Planck Institute and University of Konstanz
Konstanz, 2017
erikssongustaw@gmail.com (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/8937941
- author
- Eriksson, Gustaw
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- MOBK01 20172
- year
- 2018
- type
- M2 - Bachelor Degree
- subject
- language
- English
- id
- 8937941
- date added to LUP
- 2018-03-22 15:49:10
- date last changed
- 2018-03-22 15:49:10
@misc{8937941,
author = {{Eriksson, Gustaw}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Gene expression during immune response in mallards: A study of candidate genes and sex differences with Real-Time qPCR}},
year = {{2018}},
}