Genetic Control of Immunity to Eimeria teneUa. Interaction of MHC Genes and Non-MHC Linked Genes Influences Levels of Disease Susceptibility in Chickens

The relative importance of MHC genes and background genes in the genetic control of disease susceptibility and the development of protective immunity to E. tenella infection was investigated in eight different strains of 15I5-B congenic and four inbred chicken strains. RPRL 15I5-B congenic chickens that share a common genetic background but express different B haplotypes demonstrated wide variations in disease susceptibility and the development of acquired resistance to E. tenella infection. Infection of chickens sharing a common B haplotype but expressing different genetic backgrounds showed quite contrasting levels of susceptibility to secondary E. tenella infection. In all chicken strains examined, infected chickens developed high levels of serum and biliary anti-coccidial antibodies regardless of their B haplotypes. Furthermore, no correlation between antibody levels and the phenotypically expressed levels of disease resistance was demonstrated. These findings lend support to the view that interaction of MHC genes and non-MHC genes influences the outcome of host response to E. tenella infection. Disciplines Agriculture | Animal Sciences | Genetics and Genomics | Poultry or Avian Science Comments This article is from Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology 20 (1989): 135, doi:10.1016/ 0165-2427(89)90094-9. Rights Works produced by employees of the U.S. Government as part of their official duties are not copyrighted within the U.S. The content of this document is not copyrighted. This article is available at Iowa State University Digital Repository: http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/ans_pubs/209 Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology, 20 ( 1989) 135-148 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., AmsterdamPrinted in The Netherlands Genetic Control of Immunity to Eimeria tenella. Interaction of MHC Genes and Non-MHC Linked Genes Influences Levels of Disease Susceptibility in Chickens HYUN S. LILLEHOJ · , M.D. RUFF\ L.D. BACOW, S.J. LAMONT and T.K. JEFFERS 1 U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Protozoan Diseases Laboratory, Agricultural Research Station, Beltsville, MD 20705 (U.S.A.) Regional Poultry Research Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, East Lansing, MI 48823 (U.S.A.) Dept. of Animal Science, Poultry Section, Iowa State University, Ames, !A 50011 (U.S.A.) Lilly Research Laboratories, A Division of Eli Lilly and Company, Greenfield, IN 46140 (U.S.A.) To whom correspondence should be addressed. (Accepted 5 July 1988)