Early Transcriptional Response to Monensin in Sensitive and Resistant Strains of Eimeria tenella

Abstract

<i>Eimeria</i> parasites are the causative agents of coccidiosis, a common parasitic disease in poultry and livestock that causes significant economic losses to the animal husbandry industry. Ionophore coccidiostats, such as monensin and salinomycin, are widely used for prophylaxis of coccidiosis in poultry. Unfortunately, widespread drug resistance has compromised their efficacy. As a result, there is an increasing need to understand the targets and resistance mechanisms to anticoccidials. However, how <i>Eimeria</i> parasite genes respond to ionophores remains unclear. In this study, resistance to monensin was induced in <i>E. tenella</i> through serial generations of selection. Both sensitive and resistant <i>E. tenella</i> sporozoites were treated with 5 μg/ml monensin for 0, 2, and 4 h, respectively. Gene transcription profiles were then compared by high-throughput sequencing. The results showed that protein translation-related genes were significantly downregulated after drug induction. A total of 1,848 DEGs were detected in the sensitive strain after 2 h of exposure, whereas only 31 were detected in the resistant strain. Among these DEGs in the sensitive strain, genes associated with protein degradation were significantly upregulated, supporting the autophagy-like parasite killing theory. Then, 4 h of exposure resulted in additional 626 and 621 DEGs for sensitive and resistant strains, respectively. This result implies that the gene transcription in sensitive strain is more susceptible to monensin treatment. Our results provide gene expression landscapes of <i>E. tenella</i> following monensin treatment. These data will contribute to a better understanding of the mechanism of drug resistance to polyether ionophores in coccidia.