ABSTRACT: Purpose: RNA-Seq has become a powerful tool for investigating transcriptional profiles in gene expression analysis, which would help to reveal the molecular mechanism of Clostridium perfringens type C infecting the piglets. In this study, we analyzed the transcriptome profiles of the spleen of piglets caused by Clostridium perfringens type Cens type C. Methods: 30 normal 7-day-old piglets (Y x L), without infecting Clostridium perfringens type C, Escherichia coli and Salmonella, were selected as experimental subjects. 25 piglets were randomly selected as the experimental group, which were disposed once a day for 5 days. Each piglet was dosed with 1 ml of bouillon culture-medium inoculated Clostridium perfringens type C at 37℃ for 16h, which approximate to 1 x109 CFU per ml. Then, 5 piglets were randomly selected as the control group (SC), which were taken the equal volume medium for 5 days.Based on total diarrhea scores, 25 piglets were ranked from high to low. The top and last five piglet were considered as sensitive group (SS) and resistant group (SR), respectively. Finally, spleen were collected and sequenced for lncRNA and mRNA. Results: RNA libraries constructed from spleen of piglets caused by Clostridium perfringens type C were sequenced. A total of 1,450,292,484 clean reads were generated. Among them, 2056 novel lncRNA transcripts corresponding to 1561 lncRNA genes were identified, including 1811 intergenic lncRNAs and 245 anti-sense lncRNAs. The identified spleen lncRNAs shared some characteristics, such as fewer exons and shorter length, with the lncRNAs in other animal. Notably, in pairwise comparisons between the libraries of spleen tissue at the different group, a total of 247 lncRNA and 2170 mRNA were differentially expressed (P < 0.05). Function analyses indicated that these differentially expressed lncRNAs and mRNAs play roles in defensing Clostridium perfringens type C, which were enriched in immune-related biological processes, such as the antigen processing and presentation, TNF signaling pathway, NF-kappa B signaling pathway, B cell receptor signaling pathway and MAPK signaling pathway. Conclusions: This study provides the information of spleen-related lncRNAs in swine diarrhea with Clostridium perfringens type C. We also analyzed all lncRNA’s genomic feature and expression. Bioinformatic analysis indicates that some lncRNAs participated in important biological processes associated with defeasing Clostridium perfringens type C, such as antigen processing and presentation, the MHC protein complex and regulation of autophagy.
