RNAi Effector Diversity in Nematodes

Dalzell, Johnathan J. and McVeigh, Paul and Warnock, Neil D. and Mitreva, Makedonka and McK Bird, David and Abad, Pierre and Fleming, Day and Mousley, Angela and Marks, Nikki J. and Maule, Aaron G. (2011) RNAi Effector Diversity in Nematodes. Plos Neglected tropical diseases - Open access, 5 (6). pp. 1-11.

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Abstract

While RNA interference (RNAi) has been deployed to facilitate gene function studies in diverse helminths, parasitic nematodes appear variably susceptible. To test if this is due to inter-species differences in RNAi effector complements, we performed a primary sequence similarity survey for orthologs of 77 Caenorhabditis elegans RNAi pathway proteins in 13
nematode species for which genomic or transcriptomic datasets were available, with all outputs subjected to domain- structure verification. Our dataset spanned transcriptomes of Ancylostoma caninum and Oesophagostomum dentatum, and genomes of Trichinella spiralis, Ascaris suum, Brugia malayi, Haemonchus contortus, Meloidogyne hapla, Meloidogyne incognita and Pristionchus pacificus, as well as the Caenorhabditis species C. brenneri, C. briggsae, C. japonica and C. remanei,
and revealed that: (i) Most of the C. elegans proteins responsible for uptake and spread of exogenously applied double stranded (ds)RNA are absent from parasitic species, including RNAi-competent plant-nematodes; (ii) The Argonautes (AGOs) responsible for gene expression regulation in C. elegans are broadly conserved, unlike those recruited during the induction
of RNAi by exogenous dsRNA; (iii) Secondary Argonautes (SAGOs) are poorly conserved, and the nuclear AGO NRDE-3 was not identified in any parasite; (iv) All five Caenorhabditis spp. possess an expanded RNAi effector repertoire relative to the parasitic nematodes, consistent with the propensity for gene loss in nematode parasites; (v) In spite of the quantitative differences in RNAi effector complements across nematode species, all displayed qualitatively similar coverage of functional protein groups. In summary, we could not identify RNAi effector deficiencies that associate with reduced susceptibility in
parasitic nematodes. Indeed, similarities in the RNAi effector complements of RNAi refractory and competent nematode parasites support the broad applicability of this research genetic tool in nematodes.

Item Type: Article
Subjects: Medical and Health Sciences > Other medical sciences
Divisions: Faculty of Medical Science
Depositing User: Marija Kalejska
Date Deposited: 30 Nov 2012 14:15
Last Modified: 30 Nov 2012 14:15
URI: https://eprints.ugd.edu.mk/id/eprint/2637

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