Abstract
BackgroundThe three epidemiologically important Opisthorchiidae liver flukes Opisthorchis felineus, O. viverrini, and Clonorchis sinensis, are believed to harbour similar potencies to provoke hepatobiliary diseases in their definitive hosts, although their populations have substantially different ecogeographical aspects including habitat, preferred hosts, population structure. Lack of O. felineus genomic data is an obstacle to the development of comparative molecular biological approaches necessary to obtain new knowledge about the biology of Opisthorchiidae trematodes, to identify essential pathways linked to parasite-host interaction, to predict genes that contribute to liver fluke pathogenesis and for the effective prevention and control of the disease.ResultsHere we present the first draft genome assembly of O. felineus and its gene repertoire accompanied by a comparative analysis with that of O. viverrini and Clonorchis sinensis. We observed both noticeably high heterozygosity of the sequenced individual and substantial genetic diversity in a pooled sample. This indicates that potency of O. felineus population for rapid adaptive response to control and preventive measures of opisthorchiasis is higher than in O. viverrini and C. sinensis. We also have found that all three species are characterized by more intensive involvement of trans-splicing in RNA processing compared to other trematodes.ConclusionAll revealed peculiarities of structural organization of genomes are of extreme importance for a proper description of genes and their products in these parasitic species. This should be taken into account both in academic and applied research of epidemiologically important liver flukes. Further comparative genomics studies of liver flukes and non-carcinogenic flatworms allow for generation of well-grounded hypotheses on the mechanisms underlying development of cholangiocarcinoma associated with opisthorchiasis and clonorchiasis as well as species-specific mechanisms of these diseases.
Highlights
The three epidemiologically important Opisthorchiidae liver flukes Opisthorchis felineus, O. viverrini, and Clonorchis sinensis, are believed to harbour similar potencies to provoke hepatobiliary diseases in their definitive hosts, their populations have substantially different ecogeographical aspects including habitat, preferred hosts, population structure
The O. felineus genome size was slightly longer as compared with С. sinensis (547 Mb) and almost the same as the O. viverrini genome (634.5 Mb) [16, 17]
Lack of O. felineus genomic data is an obstacle to the development of comparative molecular biological approaches necessary to obtain new knowledge about the biology of epidemiologically important Opisthorchiidae trematodes, to identify essential pathways linked to parasite-host interaction, to predict genes that contribute to liver fluke pathogenesis and for the effective prevention and control of the disease
Summary
The three epidemiologically important Opisthorchiidae liver flukes Opisthorchis felineus, O. viverrini, and Clonorchis sinensis, are believed to harbour similar potencies to provoke hepatobiliary diseases in their definitive hosts, their populations have substantially different ecogeographical aspects including habitat, preferred hosts, population structure. Opisthorchis felineus (Rivolta, 1884) is a member of the triad of epidemiologically important fish-borne liver trematodes, which includes O. viverrini (Poirier, 1886) and Clonorchis sinensis (Loos, 1907). These liver flukes are known to cause serious human diseases affecting bile ducts and the gall bladder. The liver flukes O. felineus, O. viverrini, and C. sinensis are typical trematodes with an intricate life cycle including alternation of two intermediate hosts and one definitive host (Fig. 1). Once the metacercaria enters the digestive tract, its envelope is destroyed and the excysted liver fluke penetrates the hepatobiliary system of fish-eating mammals [3, 7, 8]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
