title: Reconstruction of the insulin-like signalling pathway of Haemonchus contortus.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In the present study, we reconstructed the insulin/insulin-like growth factor 1 signalling (IIS) pathway for Haemonchus contortus, which is one of the most important eukaryotic pathogens of livestock worldwide and is related to the free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.
  
  
  METHODS
  We curated full-length open-reading frames from assembled transcripts, defined the complement of genes that encode proteins involved in this pathway and then investigated the transcription profiles of these genes for all key developmental stages of H. contortus.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The core components of the IIS pathway are similar to their respective homologs in C. elegans. However, there is considerable variation in the numbers of isoforms between H. contortus and C. elegans and an absence of AKT-2 and DDL-2 homologs from H. contortus. Interestingly, DAF-16 has a single isoform in H. contortus compared with 12 in C. elegans, suggesting novel functional roles in the parasitic nematode. Some IIS proteins, such as DAF-18 and SGK-1, vary in their functional domains, indicating distinct roles from their homologs in C. elegans.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study paves the way for the further characterization of key signalling pathways in other socioeconomically important parasites and should help understand the complex mechanisms involved in developmental processes.
authors: The University of Melbourne, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, Parkville, VIC, Australia. namigrt@gmail.com.
authors: Namitha
authors: N
authors: Mohandas
authors: State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China. mhu@mail.hzau.edu.cn.
authors: Min
authors: M
authors: Hu
authors: The University of Melbourne, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, Parkville, VIC, Australia. astroehlein@unimelb.edu.au.
authors: Andreas J
authors: AJ
authors: Stroehlein
authors: The University of Melbourne, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, Parkville, VIC, Australia. nyoung@unimelb.edu.au.
authors: Neil D
authors: ND
authors: Young
authors: HHMI, Division of Biology, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA. pws@caltech.edu.au.
authors: Paul W
authors: PW
authors: Sternberg
authors: Department of Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 3800 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA. jlok@vet.upenn.edu.
authors: James B
authors: JB
authors: Lok
authors: The University of Melbourne, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, Parkville, VIC, Australia. robinbg@unimelb.edu.au.
authors: Robin B
authors: RB
authors: Gasser
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006189:Haemonchus / Q000502:physiology*; D007328:Insulin / Q000378:metabolism*; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D007328:Insulin; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I