Structure and expression identification of Cherry Valley duck IRF8

Area of Science:

• Immunology
• Virology
• Molecular Biology

Background:

• Interferon regulatory factor 8 (IRF8), also known as interferon (IFN) consensus sequence binding protein (ICSBP), is crucial for IFN signal transduction.
• IRF8 is a key transcription factor involved in the development of innate and adaptive immune responses.

Purpose of the Study:

• To clone and characterize the Cherry Valley duck IRF8 (duIRF8) gene.
• To investigate the tissue distribution and expression patterns of duIRF8 in ducks.
• To determine the role of duIRF8 in the innate immune response against viral infections in ducks.

Main Methods:

• Full-length coding sequence cloning of duIRF8.
• Bioinformatic analysis including phylogenetic tree construction.
• Quantitative analysis of IRF8 tissue distribution and expression levels via qRT-PCR.
• Analysis of IRF8 expression changes post-infection with specific duck viruses.

Main Results:

• The duIRF8 gene has an open reading frame of 1293 bp, encoding 430 amino acids with conserved DBD, IAD, and NLS domains.
• Phylogenetic analysis revealed highest homology of duIRF8 with Anser cygnoides.
• IRF8 expression was highest in the liver of healthy ducks.
• Viral infections (duck Tambusu virus, reovirus, plague virus) led to upregulated IRF8 expression in the spleen and brain.

Conclusions:

• duIRF8 possesses conserved functional domains and exhibits evolutionary conservation.
• IRF8 is widely distributed in duck tissues, with highest basal levels in the liver.
• IRF8 plays a significant role in the innate immune response of Cherry Valley ducks against viral pathogens, particularly in the spleen and brain following infection.