Temporal_cell_atlas_for_schistosomes
The overarching goal of this project is to discover single-cell transcriptomic signals and cell trajectories that drive the development of male and female schistosomes within the mammalian host. We hypothesize that transcriptomic differences between sexes are established in monomorphic stages, long before the sexual phenotypic dimorphism arises. To identify key developmental drivers, we will investigate the transcriptomic architecture of developing parasites at the single cell level. We demonstrate their role by following the phenotypic effect of disrupting their gene expression The proposal therefore as two major aims: (1) use single-cell sequencing to reveal a sexual transcriptomic dimorphism in early sexually monomorphic developing over time within the mammalian host and (2) functionally characterize genes potentially involved in sexual differentiation by RNAi and phenotyping.