Association of TRIM Gene Variation and LPDV Infection Patterns in Wild Turkeys

Author

Bennett Fry, University of MississippiFollow

Date of Award

Spring 4-30-2021

Document Type

Undergraduate Thesis

Department

Biology

First Advisor

Richard Buchholz

Second Advisor

Wayne Gray

Third Advisor

Carla Carr

Relational Format

Dissertation/Thesis

Abstract

Emerging infectious diseases pose a serious threat to various species throughout the globe, including humans. The lymphoproliferative disease virus (LPDV) in wild turkeys is an example of disease virus whose impact on its host requires additional study. Although the first description of lymphoproliferative disease came from outbreaks in domestic turkey flocks in Europe, it is now known that LPDV is widespread in wild turkey populations in North America. In an effort to understand what may affect an individual turkey’s susceptibility to this virus, variation in part of the anti-viral TRIM62 gene was investigated. DNA was extracted from hunter-collected, turkey blood samples and then subjected to PCR to amplify the TRIM62 gene fragment and to test for LPDV infection. The TRIM62 and LPDV amplicons were sequenced commercially .The occurrence of LPDV positive samples from wild turkeys collected from three different states was 50%. Phylogenetic analysis of the LPDV sequences showed patterns of genetic distance among collected samples and LPDV sequences available in GenBank that suggest that historical restoration efforts may have dispersed the virus over great geographic distance. In the exon 3 portion of the TRIM62 gene examined, the only sequence variation observed were two separate point variants that would not have resulted in a different peptide sequence compared to the consensus sequence. Therefore, these variants could not affect LPDV infection patterns among individuals. Additional research on other exons of TRIM62 and other TRIM genes and their association with LPDV infection is warranted.

Recommended Citation

Fry, Bennett, "Association of TRIM Gene Variation and LPDV Infection Patterns in Wild Turkeys" (2021). Honors Theses. 1688.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/1688

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