Transcriptome Analysis of Immune Response Process in Yellow Catfish (Pelteobagrus fulvidraco) During Edwardsiella tarda Exposure

Abstract

Edwardsiella tarda, the causative agent of ascites disease, is a major fish pathogen and has caused significant economic losses in aquaculture. To decipher the immune response process challenged by E. tarda in yellow catfish (Pelteobagrus fulvidraco), the transcriptomic profiles of the spleens infected with bacteria at 6 h, 24 h, and 72 h were obtained using the Illumina sequencing platform. After de novo assembly, a total of 158,124 unigenes were detected. To further investigate the immune-related DEGs, gene ontology (GO) enrichment and KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) pathway analysis were performed. Immune pathways about antigen processing and presentation pathway, complement and coagulation cascades pathway, and apoptosis pathway were combined to discussed in this study. Additionally, 10 immune-related DEGs in these three immune pathways were randomly selected for expression verification by quantitative Real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). The data generated in this study provides a valuable resource for further immune response research and offers efficient strategies against E. tarda infection in yellow catfish.