A deep exploration of the transcriptome and "excretory/secretory" proteome of adult Fascioloides magna.
Parasitic liver flukes of the family Fasciolidae are responsible for major socioeconomic losses worldwide. However, at present, knowledge of the fundamental molecular biology of these organisms is scant. Here, we characterize, for the first time, the transcriptome and secreted proteome of the adult stage of the "giant liver fluke," Fascioloides magna, using Illumina sequencing technology and one-dimensional SDS-PAGE and OFFGEL protein electrophoresis, respectively. A total of ∼54,000,000 reads were generated and assembled into ∼39,000 contiguous sequences (contigs); ∼20,000 peptides were predicted and classified based on homology searches, protein motifs, gene ontology, and biological pathway mapping. From the predicted proteome, 48.1% of proteins could be assigned to 384 biological pathway terms, including "spliceosome," "RNA transport," and "endocytosis." Putative proteins involved in amino acid degradation were most abundant. Of the 835 secreted proteins predicted from the transcriptome of F. magna, 80 were identified in the excretory/secretory products from this parasite. Highly represented were antioxidant proteins, followed by peptidases (particularly cathepsins) and proteins involved in carbohydrate metabolism. The integration of transcriptomic and proteomic datasets generated herein sets the scene for future studies aimed at exploring the potential role(s) that molecules might play at the host-parasite interface and for establishing novel strategies for the treatment or control of parasitic fluke infections.
Faculty of Veterinary Science, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia.
Cinzia
C
Cantacessi
Jason
J
Mulvenna
Neil D
ND
Young
Martin
M
Kasny
Petr
P
Horak
Ammar
A
Aziz
Andreas
A
Hofmann
Alex
A
Loukas
Robin B
RB
Gasser
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D056668:Cathepsin L / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D003670:Deer; D005212:Fasciolidae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D015801:Helminth Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D058977:Molecular Sequence Annotation; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D020543:Proteome / Q000378:metabolism*; D040901:Proteomics; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D059467:Transcriptome / Q000235:genetics*
D015801:Helminth Proteins; D007527:Isoenzymes; D020543:Proteome; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D056668:Cathepsin L