Abstract
BackgroundThe Southeast Asian liver fluke (Opisthorchis viverrini) chronically infects and affects tens of millions of people in regions of Asia, leading to chronic illness and, importantly, inducing malignant cancer ( = cholangiocarcinoma). In spite of this, little is known, at the molecular level, about the parasite itself, its interplay with its hosts or the mechanisms of disease and/or carcinogenesis.Methodology/Principal FindingsHere, we generated extensive RNA-Seq data (Illumina) representing adult and juvenile stages of O. viverrini, and combined these sequences with previously published transcriptomic data (454 technology) for this species, yielding a combined assembly of significantly increased quality and allowing quantitative assessment of transcription in the juvenile and adult stage.ConclusionsThis enhanced assembly reveals that, despite the substantial biological similarities between the human liver flukes, O. viverinni and Clonorchis sinensis, there are previously unrecognized differences in major aspects of their molecular biology. Most notable are differences among the C13 and cathepsin L-like cysteine peptidases, which play key roles in tissue migration, immune evasion and feeding, and, thus, represent potential drug and/or vaccine targets. Furthermore, these data indicate that major lineages of cysteine peptidases of socioeconomically important trematodes have evolved through a process of gene loss rather than independent radiation, contrasting previous proposals.
Highlights
Parasitic worms of humans and other animals cause diseases of major socio-economic importance around the world
After the eggs are shed into water, they are ingested by freshwater snails (Bithynia spp.) and hatch in the gut, releasing the motile embryo ( = miracidium), which develops into a sporocyst
We used an RNA-Seq-based approach to improve the transcriptome of O. viverrini, and to explore differential transcription between the juvenile and adult stages of this parasite
Summary
Parasitic worms of humans and other animals cause diseases of major socio-economic importance around the world. In spite of their significance, many of them have been substantially neglected in terms of research and their control [1]. Embryonated eggs are shed into the environment in the faeces from the infected definitive host (mainly humans, dogs and cats). The motile cercariae are released from the snail into the aquatic environment. Thereafter, these larvae undergo host finding and must penetrate the skin of a cyprinoid fishes (e.g., Puntius spp.) and encyst as metacercariae within the skin and/or musculature to survive. Little is known, at the molecular level, about the parasite itself, its interplay with its hosts or the mechanisms of disease and/or carcinogenesis
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