Integrative GWAS and RNA-seq identify MYL9 as a key regulator of pullorum disease resistance in chickens.

Jiongwen Wu, Zhexia Fan, Xiaohuan Chao, Weiming Liang, Ruina Li, Shuya Chen, Cheng Fang, Qingbin Luo

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Article in Poultry science, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Jiongwen WuGuangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510000, China; State Key Laboratory of Livestock and Poultry Breeding, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510000, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding and Key Lab of Chicken Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture, Guangzhou 510000, China.

Zhexia FanGuangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510000, China; State Key Laboratory of Livestock and Poultry Breeding, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510000, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding and Key Lab of Chicken Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture, Guangzhou 510000, China.

Xiaohuan ChaoGuangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510000, China; State Key Laboratory of Livestock and Poultry Breeding, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510000, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding and Key Lab of Chicken Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture, Guangzhou 510000, China.

Weiming LiangGuangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510000, China; State Key Laboratory of Livestock and Poultry Breeding, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510000, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding and Key Lab of Chicken Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture, Guangzhou 510000, China.

Ruina LiGuangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510000, China; State Key Laboratory of Livestock and Poultry Breeding, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510000, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding and Key Lab of Chicken Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture, Guangzhou 510000, China.

Shuya ChenGuangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510000, China; State Key Laboratory of Livestock and Poultry Breeding, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510000, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding and Key Lab of Chicken Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture, Guangzhou 510000, China.

Cheng FangGuangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510000, China; State Key Laboratory of Livestock and Poultry Breeding, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510000, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding and Key Lab of Chicken Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture, Guangzhou 510000, China.

Qingbin LuoGuangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510000, China; State Key Laboratory of Livestock and Poultry Breeding, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510000, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding and Key Lab of Chicken Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture, Guangzhou 510000, China. Electronic address: qbluo@scau.edu.cn.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Pullorum disease, caused by Salmonella Pullorum, is a significant avian disease that poses a serious threat to poultry health. To elucidate the host immune response characteristics and key regulatory gene mechanisms during infection, this study investigated 2,100 White Plymouth Rock hens at 100 days of age. A rapid plate agglutination (RPA) test was conducted for screening, identifying 175 individuals as strongly positive and 42 as weakly positive. Immune factor levels in peripheral blood were measured in 375 birds, revealing that the expression levels of IgG, IL-6, and IL-8 were significantly higher in the positive group than in the negative group, indicating that Salmonella Pullorum infection induces the release of immune factors.Whole-genome resequencing (WGS) of the 375 samples identified 72 SNPs significantly associated with the agglutination phenotype through genome-wide association study (GWAS), and 289 candidate genes were screened. Transcription sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis identified 536 differential expressed genes (DEGs), which were enriched in pathways related to Salmonella infection, calcium signaling, and immune responses. Integrated analysis of the GWAS and RNA-seq results revealed five overlapping genes: MYL9, SYT1, KLHL38, C11orf87, and KCNH4. Among them, MYL9 was enriched in the Salmonella infection pathway and occupied a central node in the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. Functional validation of MYL9 in HD11 cells showed that MYL9 significantly promoted the expression of IL-2, IL-3, IL-6, IFN-α, IFN-β, and TNF-α, and increased the protein levels of IFN-α, TNF-α, and IgG in HD11 cells. It indicates that MYL9 plays a role in Salmonella Pullorum by upregulating immune factors.

Indexed as

Avian ProteinsChickensDisease ResistanceMyosin Light ChainsPoultry DiseasesSalmonella Infections, AnimalAnimalsFemaleGenome-Wide Association StudyPolymorphism, Single NucleotideRNA-SeqSalmonellaAvian ProteinsMyosin Light ChainsGenome-wide association studyHD11MYL9RNA-seqSalmonella Pullorum

Identifiers

PMID41671841

DOI10.1016/j.psj.2026.106544

PMCPMC12914420

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