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Evaluation of schistosome promoter expression for transgenesis and genetic analysis.

ABSTRACT: Schistosome worms of the genus Schistosoma are the causative agents of schistosomiasis, a devastating parasitic disease affecting more than 240 million people worldwide. Schistosomes have complex life cycles, and have been challenging to manipulate genetically due to the dearth of molecular tools. Although the use of gene overexpression, gene knockouts or knockdowns are straight-forward genetic tools applied in many model systems, gene misexpression and genetic manipulation of schistosome genes in vivo has been exceptionally challenging, and plasmid based transfection inducing gene expression is limited. We recently reported the use of polyethyleneimine (PEI) as a simple and effective method for schistosome transfection and gene expression. Here, we use PEI-mediated schistosome plasmid transgenesis to define and compare gene expression profiles from endogenous and nonendogenous promoters in the schistosomula stage of schistosomes that are potentially useful to misexpress (underexpress or overexpress) gene product levels. In addition, we overexpress schistosome genes in vivo using a strong promoter and show plasmid-based misregulation of genes in schistosomes, producing a clear and distinct phenotype--death. These data focus on the schistosomula stage, but they foreshadow strong potential for genetic characterization of schistosome molecular pathways, and potential for use in overexpression screens and drug resistance studies in schistosomes using plasmid-based gene expression.

SUBMITTER: Liang S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4032330 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Evaluation of schistosome promoter expression for transgenesis and genetic analysis.

Liang Shuang S Varrecchia Melissa M Ishida Kenji K Jolly Emmitt R ER

PloS one 20140523 5

Schistosome worms of the genus Schistosoma are the causative agents of schistosomiasis, a devastating parasitic disease affecting more than 240 million people worldwide. Schistosomes have complex life cycles, and have been challenging to manipulate genetically due to the dearth of molecular tools. Although the use of gene overexpression, gene knockouts or knockdowns are straight-forward genetic tools applied in many model systems, gene misexpression and genetic manipulation of schistosome genes ...[more]

PMID: 24858918

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Project description:Minimal information on the genome and proteome of Schistosoma haematobium is available, in marked contrast to the situation with the other major species of human schistosomes for which draft genome sequences have been reported. Accordingly, little is known about functional genomics in S. haematobium, including the utility or not of RNA interference techniques that, if available, promise to guide development of new interventions for schistosomiasis haematobia.Here we isolated and cultured developmental stages of S. haematobium, derived from experimentally infected hamsters. Targeting different developmental stages, we investigated the utility of soaking and/or square wave electroporation in order to transfect S. haematobium with nucleic acid reporters including Cy3-labeled small RNAs, messenger RNA encoding firefly luciferase, and short interfering RNAs (siRNAs). Three hours after incubation of S. haematobium eggs in 50 ng/µl Cy3-labeled siRNA, fluorescent foci were evident indicating that labeled siRNA had penetrated into miracidia developing within the egg shell. Firefly luciferase activity was detected three hours after square wave electroporation of the schistosome eggs and adult worms in 150 ng/µl of mRNA. RNA interference knockdown (silencing) of reporter luciferase activity was seen following the introduction of dsRNA specific for luciferase mRNA in eggs, schistosomules and mixed sex adults. Moreover, introduction of an endogenous gene-specific siRNA into adult schistosomes silenced transcription of tetraspanin 2 (Sh-tsp-2), the apparent orthologue of the Schistosoma mansoni gene Sm-tsp-2 which encodes the surface localized structural and signaling protein Sm-TSP-2. Together, knockdown of reporter luciferase and Sh-tsp-2 indicated the presence of an intact RNAi pathway in S. haematobium. Also, we employed laser scanning confocal microscopy to view the adult stages of S. haematobium.These findings and approaches should facilitate analysis of gene function in S. haematobium, which in turn could facilitate the characterization of prospective intervention targets for this neglected tropical disease pathogen.

Project description:The DNA sequence of the promoter region of the Mycobacterium smegmatis rpsL gene, which encodes the S12 ribosomal protein, was determined. Primer extension analysis and S1 nuclease protection experiments identified the 5' end of the rpsL mRNA to be 199 bp upstream of the translation initiation codon. The rpsL promoter contained sequences upstream of this start point for transcription that were similar to the canonical hexamers found at the -10 and -35 regions of promoters recognized by Esigma70, the major form of RNA polymerase in Escherichia coli. To define the promoter of the rpsL gene, DNA fragments containing progressive deletions of the upstream region of the rpsL gene were inserted into a plasmid vector containing a promoterless xylE gene. These insertions revealed that the 200 bp of DNA sequence immediately upstream from the translation initiation codon was not essential for promoter function. In addition, 5' deletions removing all but 34 bp upstream of the transcription start point retained greater than 90% promoter activity, suggesting that the -35 hexamer was not essential for promoter activity. To determine which nucleotides were critical for promoter function, oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis and mutagenic PCR amplification were used to produce point mutations in the region upstream of the start point of transcription. Single base substitutions in the -10 hexamer, but not in the -35 hexamer, severely reduced rpsL promoter activity in vivo. Within the -10 hexamer, nucleotide substitutions causing divergence from the E. Coli sigma70 consensus reduced promoter activity. The DNA sequence immediately upstream from the - 10 hexamer contained the TGn motif described as an extended -10 region in prokaryotic promoters. Mutations in this motif, in combination with a transition at either the -38 or -37 position within the -35 hexamer, severely reduced promoter activity, indicating that in the absence of a functional -35 region, the rpsL promoter is dependent on the TGn sequence upstream from the -10 hexamer. Comparison of the nucleotide sequence of the rpsL promoter region of M. smegmatis with the homologous sequences from Mycobacterium leprae, Mycobacterium bovis, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis showed the presence in these slowly growing mycobacterial species of conserved promoter elements a similar distance upstream of the translation initiation codon of the rpsL gene, but these other mycobacterial promoters did not contain the extended -10 motif.

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Evaluation of schistosome promoter expression for transgenesis and genetic analysis.

Publications

Evaluation of schistosome promoter expression for transgenesis and genetic analysis.

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