Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
(e.g. vertebrate macrophage mannose or CD23 [low affinity IgE] recep-
tors).
61
Taken together, these data suggest that
A. suum
has complex
strategies for manipulating, blocking, and/or evading immune
responses in the host. Understanding these strategies, particularly in the
early phases of the infection process, is likely to be central to developing
vaccination approaches.
Elucidating the Biology of
A. Suum
and Parasite
e
Host
Interactions from Transcriptomic Datasets
In addition to utilizing the transcriptomic data to assist in anno-
tating the
A. suum
genome, the RNA-Seq data generated
11
allowed
transcription profiles in different developmental stages and tissues to
be explored. To do this, we aligned all paired-end reads for each
transcript library to the predicted
A. suum
gene set using the pro-
gram TopHat,
26
and calculated quantitative levels of transcription (i.e.
reads per kilobase per million reads [RPKM]
47
)usingtheprogram
Cufflinks.
78
Reproduction and Development in the Adult Stage
Based on read alignments, we determined organ-specific transcription
profiles for
A. suum
. Because of the large size of the adult worm
(10
20 cm), we were able to explore transcription in the musculature and
the reproductive tracts of adult male and female
A. suum
individuals.
Using a predictive networking approach,
79
we defined large clusters of
genes whose transcripts are significantly enriched in reproductive
tissues of the male or female. The male-enriched reproductive tissue
cluster has three times more genes (
n
e
1771) than its female counterpart
>
(
n
596). We inferred functions based on Gene Ontology (GO) terms,
with both male and female gene sets being highly enriched for terms,
such as embryonic, larval, and genital development as well as repro-
duction and growth. Among the male-enriched transcripts is a range of
genes associated specifically with sperm and/or spermatogenesis,
wormbase.org
). Notable among the female-enriched genes is a large
variety of genes linked to oogenesis/egg laying (e.g.
cat-1
,
unc-54
,
cbd-1
,
and
pqn-74
), vulva development (e.g.
noah-1
,
nhr-25
,
cog-1
,and
pax-3
)
Although the functions of these genes have been explored in
C. elegans
(primarily a hermaphroditic nematode), we discovered organ-specific
genes associated with reproduction and embryogenesis for a dioecious,
parasitic nematode.
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