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A candidate tolerance gene identified in a natural population of field voles (Microtus agrestis)

Wanelik, KM; Begon, M; Birtles, RJ; Bradley, JE; Friberg, IM; Jackson, JA; Taylor, CH; Thomason, AG; Turner, AK; Paterson, S

A candidate tolerance gene identified in a natural population of field voles (Microtus agrestis) Thumbnail


Authors

KM Wanelik

M Begon

JE Bradley

IM Friberg

CH Taylor

AG Thomason

AK Turner

S Paterson



Abstract

The animal immune response has hitherto been viewed primarily in the context of resistance only. However, individuals, can also employ a tolerance strategy to maintain good health in the face of on-going infection. To shed light on the genetic and physiological basis of tolerance, we use a natural population of field voles, Microtus agrestis, to search for an association between the expression of the transcription factor Gata3, previously identified as a marker of tolerance in this system, and polymorphism in 84 immune and non-immune genes. Our results show clear evidence for an association between Gata3 expression and polymorphism in the Fcer1a gene, with the explanatory power of this polymorphism being comparable to that of other non-genetic variables previously identified as important predictors of Gata3 expression. We also uncover the possible mechanism behind this association using an existing protein-protein interaction network for the mouse model rodent, Mus musculus, which we validate using our own expression network for M. agrestis. Our results suggest that the polymorphism in question may be working at the transcriptional level, leading to changes in the expression of the Th2-related genes, Tyrosine-protein kinase BTK and Tyrosine-protein kinase TXK, and hence potentially altering the strength of the Th2 response, of which Gata3 is a mediator. We believe our work has implications for both treatment and control of infectious disease.

Citation

Wanelik, K., Begon, M., Birtles, R., Bradley, J., Friberg, I., Jackson, J., …Paterson, S. (2017). A candidate tolerance gene identified in a natural population of field voles (Microtus agrestis). Molecular Ecology, 27(4), 1044-1052. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.14476

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Nov 30, 2017
Online Publication Date Dec 31, 2017
Publication Date Dec 31, 2017
Deposit Date Dec 6, 2017
Publicly Available Date Mar 27, 2018
Journal Molecular Ecology
Print ISSN 0962-1083
Publisher Wiley
Volume 27
Issue 4
Pages 1044-1052
DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.14476
Publisher URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/mec.14476
Related Public URLs http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1365-294X

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