1 research outputs found
Describing variability in pig genes involved in coronavirus infections for a One Health perspective in conservation of animal genetic resources
Coronaviruses silently circulate in human and animal populations, causing mild to severe diseases.
Therefore, livestock are important components of a ?One Health? perspective aimed to control
these viral infections. However, at present there is no example that considers pig genetic resources
in this context. In this study, we investigated the variability of four genes (ACE2, ANPEP and DPP4
encoding for host receptors of the viral spike proteins and TMPRSS2 encoding for a host proteinase)
in 23 European (19 autochthonous and three commercial breeds and one wild boar population) and
two Asian Sus scrofa populations. A total of 2229 variants were identifed in the four candidate genes:
26% of them were not previously described; 29 variants afected the protein sequence and might
potentially interact with the infection mechanisms. The results coming from this work are a frst
step towards a ?One Health? perspective that should consider conservation programs of pig genetic
resources with twofold objectives: (i) genetic resources could be reservoirs of host gene variability
useful to design selection programs to increase resistance to coronaviruses; (ii) the describedFE1B-06B2-126F | Jos? Pedro Pinto de Ara?joN/