title: Cracking the nodule worm code advances knowledge of parasite biology and biotechnology to tackle major diseases of livestock.
abstract: Many infectious diseases caused by eukaryotic pathogens have a devastating, long-term impact on animal health and welfare. Hundreds of millions of animals are affected by parasitic nematodes of the order Strongylida. Unlocking the molecular biology of representatives of this order, and understanding nematode-host interactions, drug resistance and disease using advanced technologies could lead to entirely new ways of controlling the diseases that they cause. Oesophagostomum dentatum (nodule worm; superfamily Strongyloidea) is an economically important strongylid nematode parasite of swine worldwide. The present article reports recent advances made in biology and animal biotechnology through the draft genome and developmental transcriptome of O. dentatum, in order to support biological research of this and related parasitic nematodes as well as the search for new and improved interventions. This first genome of any member of the Strongyloidea is 443 Mb in size and predicted to encode 25,291 protein-coding genes. Here, we review the dynamics of transcription throughout the life cycle of O. dentatum, describe double-stranded RNA interference (RNAi) machinery and infer molecules involved in development and reproduction, and in inducing or modulating immune responses or disease. The secretome predicted for O. dentatum is particularly rich in peptidases linked to interactions with host tissues and/or feeding activity, and a diverse array of molecules likely involved in immune responses. This research progress provides an important resource for future comparative genomic and molecular biological investigations as well as for biotechnological research toward new anthelmintics, vaccines and diagnostic tests.
authors.affiliation: The Genome Institute, Washington University in St. Louis, MO 63108, USA.
authors.forename: Rahul
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tyagi
authors.affiliation: Institute of Parasitology, Department of Pathobiology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Veterinärplatz 1, A-1210 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Anja
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Joachim
authors.affiliation: Institute of Parasitology, Department of Pathobiology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Veterinärplatz 1, A-1210 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Bärbel
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ruttkowski
authors.affiliation: The Genome Institute, Washington University in St. Louis, MO 63108, USA.
authors.forename: Bruce A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Rosa
authors.affiliation: The Genome Institute, Washington University in St. Louis, MO 63108, USA.
authors.forename: John C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.affiliation: The Genome Institute, Washington University in St. Louis, MO 63108, USA.
authors.forename: Kymberlie
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hallsworth-Pepin
authors.affiliation: The Genome Institute, Washington University in St. Louis, MO 63108, USA.
authors.forename: Xu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: The Genome Institute, Washington University in St. Louis, MO 63108, USA.
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ozersky
authors.affiliation: The Genome Institute, Washington University in St. Louis, MO 63108, USA.
authors.forename: Richard K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Shoba
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ranganathan
authors.affiliation: HHMI, Division of Biology, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
authors.forename: Paul W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Sternberg
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia. Electronic address: robinbg@unimelb.edu.au.
authors.forename: Robin B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Gasser
authors.affiliation: The Genome Institute, Washington University in St. Louis, MO 63108, USA; Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA. Electronic address: mmitreva@genome.wustl.edu.
authors.forename: Makedonka
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mitreva
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001709:Biotechnology; D018509:DNA, Helminth / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics; D023281:Genomics; D009814:Oesophagostomiasis / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary; D009815:Oesophagostomum / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D013552:Swine; D013553:Swine Diseases / Q000469:parasitology*; D059467:Transcriptome / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D018509:DNA, Helminth
keywords: Bioinformatics; Biotechnology; Genomics; Livestock; Nodule worm disease; Transcriptomics