Identification of differentially expressed transcription factors in Brangus skin infested with Rhipicephalus australis

Tick resistance is a desirable trait in beef cattle to minimise the incidence of cattle tick outbreaks and production loss in tropical and subtropical regions. Identification of genetic determinants of this trait will be beneficial for improved breeding programs. Using RNA-Sequencing, this study investigated gene expression data from skin of tick-infested Brangus cattle with high (n=5) and low (n=6) resistance. There were 229 significant differentially expressed genes (DEGs; FDR<0.05), of which 212 were target genes for 1,866 transcription factors expressed in skin. Regulatory impact factor analysis showed 158 significant TFs (P<0.05) of which GRHL3, and DTX1 were also DEGs in the experiment. Biological pathway enrichment showed the significant TFs and DEGs feature in pathways such as response to infection, transcriptional regulation, and Notch signalling. These results highlight the application of bioinformatic approaches in the identification of key transcriptional factor that are potential drivers of differential expression of host resistance trait in cattle. Thus, these candidate genes could be further explored in gene selection programs to breed for tick resistance in crossbred cattle.