BackgroundPseudorabies virus (PRV) is an alphaherpesviruses whose native host is pig. PRV infection mainly causes signs of central nervous system disorder in young pigs, and respiratory system diseases in the adult.ResultsIn this report, we have analyzed native host (piglets) gene expression changes in response to acute pseudorabies virus infection of the brain and lung using a printed human oligonucleotide gene set from Illumina. A total of 210 and 1130 out of 23,000 transcript probes displayed differential expression respectively in the brain and lung in piglets after PRV infection (p-value < 0.01), with most genes displaying up-regulation. Biological process and pathways analysis showed that most of the up-regulated genes are involved in cell differentiation, neurodegenerative disorders, the nervous system and immune responses in the infected brain whereas apoptosis, cell cycle control, and the mTOR signaling pathway genes were prevalent in the infected lung. Additionally, a number of differentially expressed genes were found to map in or close to quantitative trait loci for resistance/susceptibility to pseudorabies virus in piglets.ConclusionThis is the first comprehensive analysis of the global transcriptional response of the native host to acute alphaherpesvirus infection. The differentially regulated genes reported here are likely to be of interest for the further study and understanding of host viral gene interactions.

Two new single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (C1166T and G1190A) were discovered in the follicle-stimulating hormone receptor (FSHR) gene and two (G261A and T302C) in the zona pellucida glycoprotein (ZP3) gene. These SNPs were genotyped in three Chinese domestic purebred sow lines (42 Small Meishan, 46 Qingping and 41 Jinhua sows) and three European purebred sow lines (225 Duroc, 195 Large White and 65 Landrace sows) by using SNP chips. Phenotypic data including the functional teat number (i.e. milk-producing teats, TN) and number of piglets born alive per litter (NBA). These traits were tested for association with the genotypes of four SNPs. The association analysis revealed genotype of G261A in the ZP3 gene was significantly (P , 0.01) associated with overall NBA and NBA at later parities (NBA 21 ) but not with NBA at first parity (NBA 1 ). There was a significant (P , 0.05) difference between sows with genotype GG (14.83 6 0.18) and AA (14.26 6 0.09) in TN at position 261 in the ZP3 gene. No significant associations were observed for the SNPs in the FSHR gene with NBA or TN in our populations. The results showed that the new SNPs in the ZP3 gene may be an effective potential marker to be used in conjunction with traditional selection methods.