Transcriptomic profiling revealed immune-related signaling pathways in response to experimental infection of Leishmania donovani in two desert lizards from Northwest China

Little is known about the immune response of lizards to Leishmania parasties. In this study, we conducted the first liver transcriptome analysis of two lizards (Phrynocephalus przewalskii and Eremias multiocellata) challenged with L. donovani, endemic to the steppe desert region of northwestern China. Our results revealed that multiple biological processes and immune-related signaling pathways are closely associated with the immune response to experimental L. donovani infection in the two lizards, and that both lizards show similar changes to mammals in terms of immunity to Leishmania. However, the interspecific divergence of the two lizards leads to different transcriptomic changes. In particular, in contrast to P. przewalskii, the challenged E. mutltiocellata was characterized by the induction of down-regulation of most DEGs. These findings will contribute to the scarce resources on lizard immunity and provide a reference for further research on immune mechanisms in reptiles.