RNAseq of Heligmosomoides bakeri opportunistic blood feeding
This study aims to examine opportunistic blood feeding by the parasitic nematode Heligmosomoides bakeri during infection of its mouse host. To assess whether red blood cell ingestion provides a fitness advantage to the exsheathed larvae, tissue-dwelling larvae were separated by RBC ingestion phenotype then used to preform bulk RNA-seq and identify genes upregulated during blood feeding. Blood feeding may be more widespread among nematodes than currently described. H. bakeri can serve as a model for studying blood-feeding mechanisms and developing anthelminthic strategies to combat them.