Veterinary Biosciences - Research Publications

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Author: Gasser, Robin × Author: Young, Neil × Author: Korhonen, Pasi × Author: Hall, Ross × Start date: 2020 × End date: 2021 ×

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    Bulinus truncatus transcriptome - a resource to enable molecular studies of snail and schistosome biology
    Stroehlein, AJ ; Korhonen, PK ; Rollinson, D ; Stothard, JR ; Hall, RS ; Gasser, RB ; Young, ND (ELSEVIER, 2021)
    Despite advances in high-throughput sequencing and bioinformatics, molecular investigations of snail intermediate hosts that transmit parasitic trematodes are scant. Here, we report the first transcriptome for Bulinus truncatus - a key intermediate host of Schistosoma haematobium - a blood fluke that causes urogenital schistosomiasis in humans. We assembled this transcriptome from short- and long-read RNA-sequence data. From this transcriptome, we predicted 12,998 proteins, 58% of which had orthologs in Biomphalaria glabrata - an intermediate host of Schistosoma mansoni - a blood fluke that causes hepato-intestinal schistosomiasis. We predicted that select protein groups are involved in signal transduction, cell growth and death, the immune system, environmental adaptation and/or the excretory/secretory system, suggesting roles in immune responses, pathogen defence and/or parasite-host interactions. The transcriptome of Bu. truncatus provides a useful resource to underpin future molecular investigations of this and related snail species, and its interactions with pathogens including S. haematobium. The present resource should enable comparative investigations of other molluscan hosts of socioeconomically important parasites in the future.
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    Marked mitochondrial genetic variation in individuals and populations of the carcinogenic liver fluke Clonorchis sinensis
    Kinkar, L ; Korhonen, PK ; Wang, D ; Zhu, X-Q ; Chelomina, GN ; Wang, T ; Hall, RS ; Koehler, A ; Harliwong, I ; Yang, B ; Fink, JL ; Young, ND ; Gasser, RB ; Blair, D (PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE, 2020-08)
    Clonorchiasis is a neglected tropical disease caused by the Chinese liver fluke, Clonorchis sinensis, and is often associated with a malignant form of bile duct cancer (cholangiocarcinoma). Although some aspects of the epidemiology of clonorchiasis are understood, little is known about the genetics of C. sinensis populations. Here, we conducted a comprehensive genetic exploration of C. sinensis from endemic geographic regions using complete mitochondrial protein gene sets. Genomic DNA samples from C. sinensis individuals (n = 183) collected from cats and dogs in China (provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, Heilongjiang and Jilin) as well as from rats infected with metacercariae from cyprinid fish from the Russian Far East (Primorsky Krai region) were deep sequenced using the BGISEQ-500 platform. Informatic analyses of mitochondrial protein gene data sets revealed marked genetic variation within C. sinensis; significant variation was identified within and among individual worms from distinct geographical locations. No clear affiliation with a particular location or host species was evident, suggesting a high rate of dispersal of the parasite across endemic regions. The present work provides a foundation for future biological, epidemiological and ecological studies using mitochondrial protein gene data sets, which could aid in elucidating associations between particular C. sinensis genotypes/haplotypes and the pathogenesis or severity of clonorchiasis and its complications (including cholangiocarcinoma) in humans.