Abstract
For scientists working on gonochoric organisms, determining sex can be crucial for many biological questions and experimental studies, such as crossbreeding, but it can also be a challenging task, particularly when no sexual dimorphism is visible or cannot be directly observed. In metazoan parasites of the genus Schistosoma responsible for schistosomiasis, sex is genetically determined in the zygote with a female heterogametic ZW/ZZ system. Adult flukes have a pronounced sexual dimorphism, whereas the sexes of the larval stages are morphologically indistinguishable but can be distinguished uniquely by using molecular methods. Therefore, reliable methods are needed to identify the sex of larvae individuals. Here, we present an endpoint PCR-based assay using female-specific sequences identified using a genome-wide comparative analysis between males and females. This work allowed us to identify sex-markers for Schistosoma haematobium and Schistosoma bovis but also the hybrid between both species that has recently emerged in Corsica (France). Five molecular sex-markers were identified and are female-specific in S. haematobium and the hybrid parasite, whereas three of them are also female-specific in S. bovis. These molecular markers will be useful to conduct studies, such as experimental crosses on these disease-causing blood flukes, which are still largely neglected but no longer restricted to tropical areas.
Highlights
Flatworm parasites of the genus Schistosoma are well known trematodes for their serious threat to human and animal health
Concerning primers designed on S. haematobium genome, we identified 5 female specific sequences for pure S. haematobium as well
Three different scaffolds of S. haematobium genome were identified as being at least in part restricted to females and W-chromosome specific (KL252782, KL253191, KL252440)
Summary
Flatworm parasites of the genus Schistosoma are well known trematodes for their serious threat to human and animal health. These blood flukes cause schistosomiasis, a neglected disease which ranks second to malaria, in terms of morbidity and mortality [1]. The elimination of eggs through host faeces or urine in a freshwater environment allows the development of free-swimming larvae called miracidia. These larvae actively search for their intermediate mollusc hosts, which they penetrate and develop via asexual multiplication to produce thousands of vertebrate infecting larvae (cercariae). Male and female larval stages are morphologically indistinguishable [5,6]
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