Dioecious Schistosoma mansoni express divergent gene repertoires regulated by pairing

Int J Parasitol. 2006 Sep;36(10-11):1081-9. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2006.06.007. Epub 2006 Jul 10.

Abstract

Pairing of adult Schistosoma mansoni parasites initiates a cascade of events including mating and egg production that ultimately leads to immuno-pathological lesions during schistosomiasis. To identify genes associated with this important biological process, we studied parasites isolated from single- versus mixed-sex cercariae-infected mice using DNA microarray analysis to uncover pair-regulated transcriptional profiles. We report that: (i) transcriptomes of parasites isolated from single-sex infections are significantly more complex than their mixed-sex counterparts; (ii) transcriptomes of single-sex males are distinct from mixed-sex males; and (iii) not all transcripts, previously hypothesized to be critical in female egg production, are regulated by pairing.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • DNA, Helminth / analysis*
  • Disorders of Sex Development / genetics
  • Female
  • Gene Expression Profiling*
  • Gene Expression Regulation*
  • Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic / microbiology
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis*
  • Reproduction / genetics
  • Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Schistosoma mansoni / physiology*
  • Schistosomiasis mansoni / microbiology
  • Transcription, Genetic

Substances

  • DNA, Helminth