Immune response to infections has been shown to be mediated by genetic diversity in pattern recognition receptors, leading to disease tolerance or susceptibility. We elucidated naturally occurring variations within the bovine CD14 gene promoter in trypanosome-tolerant (N'Dama) and susceptible (White Fulani) cattle, with genomic and computational approaches. Blood samples were collected from White Fulani and N'Dama cattle, genomic DNA extracted and the entire promoter region of the CD14 gene amplified by PCR. We sequenced this region and performed in silico computation to identify SNP variants, transcription factor binding sites, as well as micro RNAs in the region. CD14 promoter sequences were compared with the reference bovine genome from the Ensembl database to identify various SNPs. Furthermore, we validated three selected N'Dama specific SNPs using custom Taqman SNP genotyping assay for genetic diversity. In all, we identified a total of 54 and 41 SNPs at the CD14 promoter for N'Dama and White Fulani respectively, including 13 unique SNPs present in N'Dama only. The significantly higher SNP density at the CD14 gene promoter region in N'Dama may be responsible for disease tolerance, possibly an evolutionary adaptation. Our genotype analysis of the three loci selected for validation show that mutant alleles (A/A, C/C, and A/A) were adaptation profiles within disease tolerant N'Dama. A similar observation was made for our haplotype analysis revealing that haplotypes H1 (ACA) and H2 (ACG) were significant combinations within the population. The SNP effect prediction revealed 101 and 89 new transcription factor binding sites in N'Dama and White Fulani, respectively. We conclude that disease tolerant N'Dama possessing higher SNP density at the CD14 gene promoter and the preponderance of mutant alleles potentially confirms the significance of this promoter in immune response, which is lacking in susceptible White Fulani. We, therefore, recommend further in vitro and in vivo study of this observation in infected animals, as the next step for understanding genetic diversity relating to varying disease phenotypes in both breeds.

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