Emerging pathogens can have devastating effects on naïve hosts, but disease outcomes often vary among host species. Comparing the cellular response of different hosts to infection can provide insight into mechanisms of host defence. Here, we used RNA-seq to characterize the transcriptomic response of Darwin's finches to avian poxvirus, a disease of concern in the Galápagos Islands. We tested whether gene expression differs between infected and uninfected birds, and whether transcriptomic differences were related either to known antiviral mechanisms and/or the co-option of the host cellular environment by the virus. We compared two species, the medium ground finch (Geospiza fortis) and the vegetarian finch (Platyspiza crassirostris), to determine whether endemic Galápagos species differ in their response to pox. We found that medium ground finches had a strong transcriptomic response to infection, upregulating genes involved in the innate immune response including interferon production, inflammation, and other immune signalling pathways. In contrast, vegetarian finches had a more limited response, and some changes in this species were consistent with viral manipulation of the host's cellular function and metabolism.Many of the transcriptomic changes mirrored responses documented in model and in vitro studies of poxviruses. Our results thus indicate that many pathways of host defence against poxviruses are conserved among vertebrates and present even in hosts without a long evolutionary history with the virus. At the same time, the differences we observed between closely related species suggests that some endemic species of Galápagos finch could be more susceptible to avian pox than others.
Emerging pathogens can have devastating effects on naive hosts, but disease outcomes often vary among hosts. Comparing the cellular response of different host species to infection can provide insight into mechanisms of host defense and the basis of host susceptibility to disease. Here, we used RNA-seq to characterize the transcriptomic response of Darwin's finches to avian poxvirus, which is introduced to the Galapagos Islands. We tested whether gene expression differs between infected and uninfected birds, and whether transcriptomic differences were related either to known antiviral mechanisms and/or the co-option of the host cellular environment by the virus. We compared two species, the medium ground finch (Geospiza fortis) and the vegetarian finch (Platyspiza crassirostris), to determine whether related species have similar responses to the same novel pathogen. We found that medium ground finches had a strong transcriptomic response to infection, upregulating genes involved in the innate immune response including interferon production, inflammation, and other immune signaling pathways. In contrast, vegetarian finches had a more limited response to infection. Our results also revealed evidence of viral manipulation of the host's cellular function and metabolism, providing insight into the ways in which poxviruses affect their hosts. Many of the transcriptomic responses to infection mirrored known processes seen in model and in-vitro studies of poxviruses indicating that many pathways of host defense against poxviruses are conserved among vertebrates and present even in hosts without a long evolutionary history with the virus. At the same time, the variation we observed between closely related species indicates that some endemic species of Galapagos finch may be more susceptible to avian pox than others.
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