Figure 5.

MHC gene expression in hellbender skin is affected by experimental vaccination and Bd infection. The expression of two differentially expressed MHC genes is represented as Log₂ transcripts per million mapped reads (TPM, FDR-corrected p < 0.05). Expression is summarized at pre-vaccination (day 0), post-vaccination (day 89), early infection (day 117) and late infection (day 187) in each of six experimental groups: sham vaccinated and sham Bd infected (n = 2), sham vaccinated and high-dose Bd infected (n = 6), topical vaccinated and sham Bd infected (n = 2), topical vaccinated and high-dose Bd infected (n = 3), oral vaccinated and sham Bd infected (n = 2), and oral vaccinated and oral Bd infected (n = 3). The expression of MHC Class I gene isoform 18 (a) is affected by experimental time point and Bd status. The expression of MHC Class IIβ gene (b) is affected by experimental time point, Bd status, vaccination strategy and the interactions between time and Bd status, and Bd status and vaccination strategy.