Interpretive Summary: Comprehensive RNA-seq profiling to evaluate the rabbit mammary gland transcriptome after mastitis

By: Yingjie Wu, Lihua Zhao, Yinghe Qin

Mastitis is a common disease in women and farm animals, which is an infection of mammary gland tissue resulting in pain, swelling, warmth, and redness. It may present as lesions ranging from acute and necrotizing (gangrenous) forms (Turner et al., 2018), to more commonly chronic, suppurative forms (Segura et al., 2007; Corpa et al., 2009; Viana et al., 2011). A survey of Spain and Portugal rabbit farms shows that the prevalence of mastitis was 4% in lactating does (Sanchez et al., 2012). Indeed, mastitis has been recorded among the most common reasons for culling does in Spanish commercial rabbitries (Rosell et al., 2009) with mastitis reason for euthanasia of 33% of the females culled in one study (Segura et al., 2007). It has caused substantial economic loss in rabbitry worldwide.

Mastitis usually occurs as an immune response to the bacterial invasion of the nipples by variety of bacteria present on farms, and can also occur as a result of chemical, mechanical, or thermal injury to the doe’s mammary gland. The most common involved bacteria in rabbit mastitis are Staphylococcus aureus, Pasteurella multocida, and Streptococcus spp. (Rosell and de la Fuente, 2018). Treatment regimens for this disease vary but broad-spectrum antimicrobial therapy is indicated in febrile rabbits. Nevertheless, resistance to penicillin-based drugs, such as enrofloxacin or cephalexin is a potential challenge.

Read the full article in the Journal of Animal Science.