Global gene expression profiling through the complete life cycle of Trypanosoma vivax

ABSTRACT: The parasitic flagellate Trypanosoma vivax is a cause of animal trypanosomiasis across Africa and South America. The parasite has a digenetic life cycle, passing between mammalian hosts and insect vectors, and a series of developmental forms adapted to each life cycle stage. Transcriptomic and proteomic studies of the related parasites T. brucei and T. congolense have shown how gene expression is regulated during their development. New methods for in vitro culture of the T. vivax insect stages have allowed us to describe global gene expression throughout the complete T. vivax life cycle for the first time. We combined transcriptomic and proteomic analysis of each life stage using RNA-seq and mass spectrometry respectively, to identify genes with patterns of preferential transcription or expression. While T. vivax is similar to related species in several ways, (e.g. developmental regulation of energy metabolism, restricted expression of a dominant variant antigen, and expression of ‘Fam50’ proteins in the insect mouthparts), we identify significant differences in gene expression affecting metabolism in the fly and a suite of T. vivax-specific genes with predicted cell-surface expression that are preferentially expressed in the mammal (‘Fam29, 30’) or the vector (‘Fam34, 35, 43’). Thus, T. vivax differs significantly from other African trypanosomes in the developmentally-regulated proteins it expresses on its cell surface and thus, in the structure of the host-parasite interface. These unique features may yet explain the species differences in life cycle and could, in the shape of bloodstream-stage proteins that do not undergo antigenic variation, provide targets for therapy.

INSTRUMENT(S): LTQ Orbitrap Velos

ORGANISM(S): Trypanosoma Vivax (strain Y486)

SUBMITTER: Dong Xia  

LAB HEAD: Jonathan Wastling

PROVIDER: PXD001617 | Pride | 2015-07-20

REPOSITORIES: Pride