Epigenetic modulation of PRRSV susceptibility in pigs

Biotechnological research and causal inference set on elucidating the epigenetic mechanisms that regulate susceptibility to the porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus in response to environmental stressors: temperature, stocking density and air quality.

The methodological framework applies causal inference to model the interaction between static genome, dynamic epigenome and environment. The central hypothesis places the epigenetic regulation of the CD163 cell receptor in alveolar macrophages as a node modulable by environmental stress.

The project works as external scientific extension of the client's team: it is an engagement in bioinformatics services with a layer of data science for inference.

It covers the methodological and cost-benefit assessment of the sampling strategies — bronchoalveolar lavage versus peripheral blood — and the design of the operating standards for epigenetic sequencing.