Mycoplasma synoviae infection in chickens is associated with development of synovitis and arthritis, leading to a decline in poultry production and significant economic repercussions. However, the mechanism of this infection remains imperfectly known. Prokaryotic transcriptome sequencing was used to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in M. synoviae when exposed to mixed cultures of chicken macrophages and chicken embryo fibroblast cells, as well as M. synoviae cultured in vitro. Of 416 DEGs, 262 are upregulated and 122 are downregulated. Ten DEGs were randomly selected and subjected to verification through quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR. The upregulated DEGs exhibited significant enrichment in various Gene Ontology (GO) terms, notably transmembrane transport, transporter activity, and membrane protein complex. Additionally, these DEGs were enriched in Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways, including ABC transporters, quorum sensing, aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis, DNA replication, and the bacterial secretion system. The 5’ untranslated region, transcription starting point and noncoding small RNA (sRNA) were also revealed, thirty-one upregulated genes were predicted to interact with sRNA NZCP011096ₚredRNA9. These findings revealed the expression of M. synoviae transcripts when exposed, which beneficial for the treatment of M. synoviae’s target proteins study, will also help to enhance understanding of mechanisms underlying M. synoviae infection.
Si et al. (2026) studied this question.