title: RNA interference in adult Ascaris suum--an opportunity for the development of a functional genomics platform that supports organism-, tissue- and cell-based biology in a nematode parasite.
abstract: The sustainable control of animal parasitic nematodes requires the development of efficient functional genomics platforms to facilitate target validation and enhance anthelmintic discovery. Unfortunately, the utility of RNA interference (RNAi) for the validation of novel drug targets in nematode parasites remains problematic. Ascaris suum is an important veterinary parasite and a zoonotic pathogen. Here we show that adult A. suum is RNAi competent, and highlight the induction, spread and consistency of RNAi across multiple tissue types. This platform provides a new opportunity to undertake whole organism-, tissue- and cell-level gene function studies to enhance target validation processes for nematode parasites of veterinary/medical significance.
authors.affiliation: Parasitology, Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT9 7BL, UK.
authors.forename: Ciaran J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: McCoy
authors.affiliation: Parasitology, Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT9 7BL, UK.
authors.forename: Neil D
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Warnock
authors.affiliation: Parasitology, Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT9 7BL, UK.
authors.forename: Louise E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Atkinson
authors.affiliation: Parasitology, Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT9 7BL, UK.
authors.forename: Erwan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Atcheson
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Sciences, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA.
authors.forename: Richard J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Sciences, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA.
authors.forename: Alan P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Robertson
authors.affiliation: Parasitology, Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT9 7BL, UK.
authors.forename: Aaron G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Maule
authors.affiliation: Parasitology, Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT9 7BL, UK.
authors.forename: Nikki J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Marks
authors.affiliation: Parasitology, Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT9 7BL, UK. Electronic address: a.mousley@qub.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mousley
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017165:Ascaris suum / Q000235:genetics*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D034622:RNA Interference
keywords: Ascaris suum; Nematode parasite; RNA interference; Reverse genetics