Project description:We sequenced total RNA from Dirofilaria immitis in order to generate the first tissue-specific gene expression profile of a filarial nematode and its Wolbachia endosymbiont.
Project description:We sequenced total RNA from Dirofilaria immitis in order to generate the first tissue-specific gene expression profile of a filarial nematode and its Wolbachia endosymbiont. Examination of transcript levels in 7 different Dirofilaria immitis tissues, in duplicate, using Illumina GAIIx.
Project description:We report the presence of circulating miRNAs released by the filarial nematode Dirofilaria immitis into the host (Canis familiaris) bloodstream. MiRNA deep-sequencing combined with bioinformatics revealed over 200 mature miRNA sequences of potential nematode origin in Dirofilaria immitis-infected dog plasma in two independent analyses
Project description:We report the presence of circulating miRNAs released by the filarial nematode Dirofilaria immitis into the host (Canis familiaris) bloodstream.
Project description:Wolbachia pipientis is an intracellular symbiotic bacterium found in insects and arthropods. Wolbachia can decrease the vectorial capacity for various pathogens, such as the dengue virus, in Aedes aegypti. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of Wolbachia (wMel strain) on the vectorial capacity of Ae. aegypti for Dirofilaria immitis. We analyzed gene expression patterns by RNA-seq in addition to the D. immitis infection phenotype in Ae. aegypti infected with and without wMel. Four Ae. aegypti strains, MGYP2.tet, MGYP2, Liverpol (LVP)-Obihiro (OB), and LVP-OB-wMel (OB-wMel) were analyzed for transcriptome comparison in Malpighian tubule at 2 days post infection. The correlation between Wolbachia infection, D. immitis infection phenotype and immune-related genes expression in Ae. aegypti was investigated.
Project description:Female worms (Brugia malayi) were collected from infected jirds treated with 2.5 mg/ml tetracycline in drinking water for 7, 14, or 21 days to eliminate the worm's endosymbiont, Wolbachia.<br>Control age matched female worms were recovered from infected jirds given normal water for drinking.<br>The Filarial Nematode Oligonucleotide Array (version 2) was used in hybridization analyses on cDNA generated from extracted total RNA.<br>Each microarray was hybridized with a mixture of control and experimental cDNA differentially labeled with Cy3 and Cy5 in a flip-dye experiment.<br>Gridding and analysis of images were performed using ScanArray v3.0, each spot defined pixel-by-pixel using a modified Mann-Whitney test, and the resulting values processed with Gene-Spring 7.1 software.
Project description:Brugia malayi is a parasitic nematode that causes lymphatic filariasis in humans. A total of 178 novel microRNA were identified from short read transcriptional data, which when combined with known Brugia microRNAs yielded a total of 284 microRNA. Of these, 123 microRNA sequences (43%) are differentially expressed over the mammalian life stages of B. malayi that we examined. Putative targets of these microRNA were identified from inversely expressed target clusters that contain valid seed sequences for the corresponding microRNAs. The largest identified cluster is downregulated in adult females and enriched in zinc finger domains, helicase domains, and DNA binding domains suggesting this microRNA cluster may have regulatory control over a large proportion of adult female specific mRNA genes. MicroRNA-like molecules are identified as produced by the Wolbachia endosymbiont, providing evidence for direct nucleic acid-based interdomain communication between filarial nematodes and their bacterial obligate endosymbiont.
Project description:The zoonotic mosquito-borne filarial nematode Dirofilaria repens causes subcutaneous and ocular infections in dogs, cats and humans. Microfilariae (mf) are taken up by mosquitoes from infected vertebrate hosts which develop in the mosquito to the infectious third stage larvae (L3). These are transmitted to new vertebrate hosts and develop over two further moults to adult worms. The aims of the project were 1) the de novo sequencing and annotation of the D. repens genome and 2) comparative transcriptome analyses of the developmental stages mf and L3 as we hypothesized remarkable differences in gene expression between the different developmental stages. Genomic DNA was obtained from adult male D. repens. RNA was extracted from microfilariae from naturally infected dogs and from L3 produced in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes fed on blood spiked with microfi-lariae. The 99.59 MB genome was around 17% larger than that of the related species D. immitis (dog heartworm) and contained 8.9% fewer predicted genes (10,357). Around 1.8% of identified proteins (206/11,262) could not be mapped to D. immitis. Out of these, 6 (2.9 %) presented an ortholog in all other considered filarial nematodes (e.g. Loa loa) and Caenorhabditis elegans. A sig-nificantly higher number of D. repens proteins as compared to D. immitis mapped to the filarial nem-atode L. loa, reflecting the similarity in biology of D. repens and L. loa. A total of 876 genes were differentially expressed, of which 591 could be annotated in UniProtKB/Swiss-Prot. In particular, 155 genes with a UniProtKB/Swiss-Prot annotation to C. elegans and filarial nematodes were upregulat-ed in the L3 and 57 in the mf stage, respectively. Fifteen GO BP (Gene Ontology Biological Pro-cesses) were significantly enriched for the L3 group and 12 for the mf. These data provide first in-sight into the differential gene expression profiles of this filarial nematode and can serve for future investigations of metabolic processes and stage-specific diagnostics.
Project description:Lymphatic filarial nematodes maintain a mutualistic association with the intracellular bacterium Wolbachia. Wolbachia populations expand following infection of the mammalian host, to support larval growth and development. Utilizing transcriptomic data from Brugia malayi over the first two weeks post-infection, we present an analysis of the biochemical pathways that are involved in Wolbachia population growth and regulation in support of larval development. In Wolbachia, we observe coordinated regulation of carbon metabolism with an alternating pattern of glycolysis and TCA cycle pathways reminiscent of the ‘Warburg effect’. Wolbachia's purine, pyrimidine and haem biosynthesis and Type IV secretion pathways are also upregulated and correlate with the upregulation of the nematode’s DNA replication pathway. In the nematode we observe up-regulation of the autophagy pathway, a key regulator of Wolbachia populations. These findings support a key role for nucleotide and haem provisioning from Wolbachia in support of the larval growth and development of its nematode host.