Describing variability in pig genes involved in coronavirus infections for a One Health perspective in conservation of animal genetic resources.

TitleDescribing variability in pig genes involved in coronavirus infections for a One Health perspective in conservation of animal genetic resources.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2021
AuthorsBovo, S, Schiavo, G, Ribani, A, Utzeri, VJ, Taurisano, V, Ballan, M, Muñoz, M, Alves, E, Araujo, JP, Bozzi, R, Charneca, R, Di Palma, F, Kušec, IDjurkin, Etherington, G, Fernández, AI, García, F, García-Casco, J, Karolyi, D, Gallo, M, Martins, JManuel, Mercat, M-J, Núñez, Y, Quintanilla, R, Radović, Č, Razmaite, V, Riquet, J, Savić, R, Škrlep, M, Usai, G, Zimmer, C, Óvilo, C, Fontanesi, L
JournalSci Rep
Volume11
Issue1
Pagination3359
Date Published2021 02 09
ISSN2045-2322
KeywordsAngiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2, Animals, Breeding, CD13 Antigens, Coronavirus Infections, Dipeptidyl Peptidase 4, Gene Frequency, Genetic Variation, Genetics, Population, High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing, Humans, INDEL Mutation, One Health, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Receptors, Virus, Serine Endopeptidases, Sus scrofa, Swine, Whole Genome Sequencing
Abstract

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 identified in the four candidate genes: 26% of them were not previously described; 29 variants affected the protein sequence and might potentially interact with the infection mechanisms. The results coming from this work are a first 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 described variability in genes involved in coronavirus infections across many different pig populations might be part of a risk assessment including pig genetic resources.

DOI10.1038/s41598-021-82956-0
Alternate JournalSci Rep
PubMed ID33564056
PubMed Central IDPMC7873263
Grant ListNo. 634476 - TREASURE project / / Horizon 2020 /
RFO 2016-2019 programmes / / Università di Bologna /
PigPhenomics project / / Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Università e della Ricerca /
AnGen1H project / / EGI /
LIVESTOCK-STOP-COVI project / / Por Fesr Emilia-Romagna 2014-2020 /
VirAnimalOne project / / European Open Science Cloud /
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