The MCP-8 gene and its possible association with resistance to Streptococcus agalactiae in tilapia

Mast cell proteases play an important role in the regulation of the immune response. We identified the cDNA of the mast cell protease 8 (MCP-8) gene and analyzed its genomic structure in tilapia. The ORF of the MCP-8 was 768 bp, encoding 255 amino acids. Quantitative real-time PCR revealed that the MCP-8 gene was expressed predominantly in spleen, moderately in liver, blood, brain, gill, intestine, skin, and weakly expressed in kidney, muscle and eye. After a challenge with Streptococcus agalactiae, the gene was induced significantly (p < 0.05) in intestine, kidney, spleen and liver. Furthermore, we identified five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the MCP-8 gene and found that three SNPs were significantly associated (p < 0.05) with resistance against S. agalactiae. However, we found no association between four SNPs and growth traits (p > 0.05). These results suggest that the MCP-8 gene play an important role in the resistance to S. agalactiae in tilapia. The SNP markers in the MCP-8 gene associated with the resistance to the bacterial pathogen may facilitate selection of tilapia resistant to the bacterial disease.