Whipworm genome and dual-species transcriptome analyses provide molecular insights into an intimate host-parasite interaction

Foth, Bernardo J, Tsai, Isheng J, Reid, Adam J, Bancroft, Allison J, Nichol, Sarah, Tracey, Alan, Holroyd, Nancy, Cotton, James A, Stanley, Eleanor J, Zarowiecki, Magdalena, Liu, Jimmy Z, Huckvale, Thomas, Cooper, Philip, Grencis, Richard K and Berriman, Matthew (2014) 'Whipworm genome and dual-species transcriptome analyses provide molecular insights into an intimate host-parasite interaction'. Nature Genetics, Vol 46, Issue 7, pp. 693-700.

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Abstract

Whipworms are common soil-transmitted helminths that cause debilitating chronic infections in man. These nematodes are only distantly related to Caenorhabditis elegans and have evolved to occupy an unusual niche, tunneling through epithelial cells of the large intestine. We report here the whole-genome sequences of the human-infective Trichuris trichiura and the mouse laboratory model Trichuris muris. On the basis of whole-transcriptome analyses, we identify many genes that are expressed in a sex- or life stage–specific manner and characterize the transcriptional landscape of a morphological region with unique biological adaptations, namely, bacillary band and stichosome, found only in whipworms and related parasites. Using RNA sequencing data from whipworm-infected mice, we describe the regulated T helper 1 (TH1)-like immune response of the chronically infected cecum in unprecedented detail. In silico screening identified numerous new potential drug targets against trichuriasis. Together, these genomes and associated functional data elucidate key aspects of the molecular host-parasite interactions that define chronic whipworm infection.

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	QU Biochemistry > Genetics > QU 460 Genomics. Proteomics QU Biochemistry > Proteins. Amino Acids. Peptides > QU 58.7 RNA QX Parasitology > Helminths. Annelida > QX 200 Helminths QX Parasitology > Helminths. Annelida > QX 203 Nematoda QX Parasitology > QX 45 Host-parasite relations WC Communicable Diseases > Tropical and Parasitic Diseases > WC 698 Parasitic intestinal diseases (General)
Faculty: Department:	Biological Sciences > Department of Tropical Disease Biology
Digital Object Identifer (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1038/ng.3010
Depositing User:	Lynn Roberts-Maloney
Date Deposited:	15 May 2015 14:18
Last Modified:	06 Feb 2018 13:09
URI:	https://archive.lstmed.ac.uk/id/eprint/5148

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