Department of Veterinary Science, The University of Melbourne, 250 Princes Highway, Werribee, Victoria 3030, Australia.
Biotechnol Adv. 2010 Mar-Apr;28(2):222-31. doi: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2009.12.003. Epub 2009 Dec 16.
Liver flukes of animals are parasitic flatworms (Platyhelminthes: Digenea) of major socioeconomic importance in many countries. Key representatives, such as Fasciola hepatica and F. gigantica, cause "liver fluke disease" (= fascioliasis), which is of major animal health significance worldwide. In particular, F. hepatica is a leading cause of production losses to the livestock (mainly sheep and cattle) and meat industries due to clinical disease, reduced weight gain and milk production, and deaths. This parasite is also a major food-borne pathogen of humans throughout parts of the Middle East, Asia and South America. Currently, there is a significant focus on the development of new approaches for the prevention and control of fascioliasis in livestock. Recent technological advances in genomics and bioinformatics provide unique opportunities for the identification and prevalidation of drug targets and vaccines through a better understanding of the biology of F. hepatica and related species as well as their relationship with their hosts at the molecular level. Surprisingly, despite the widespread socioeconomic impact of fascioliasis, genomic datasets for F. hepatica are scant, limiting the molecular biological research of this parasite. The present article explores specifically the transcriptome of the adult stage of F. hepatica using an integrated genomic-bioinformatic platform. The analysis of the current data reveals numerous molecules of biological relevance, some of which are inferred to be involved in key biological processes or pathways that could serve as targets for new trematocidal drugs or vaccines. Improved insights into the transcriptome of F. hepatica should pave the way for future, comparative analysis of the transcriptomes of other developmental stages of this and related parasites, such as F. gigantica, cancer-causing flatworms (Clonorchis sinensis and Opisthorchis viverrini) and blood flukes (Schistosoma mansoni and S. japonicum). Prediction of the essentiality of genes and their products, molecular network connectivity of trematode genes as well as experimental exploration of function should also add value to the genomic discovery efforts in the future, focused on biotechnological outcomes.
动物肝吸虫是一类具有重要社会经济意义的寄生扁形动物（扁形动物门：复殖目），在许多国家都有重要影响。主要代表种如肝片形吸虫和巨片形吸虫会引起“肝吸虫病”（即片形吸虫病），这是全球范围内动物健康的主要问题。特别是肝片形吸虫是导致畜牧业（主要是绵羊和牛）和肉类加工业生产损失的主要原因，因为它会引起临床疾病、体重增加和产奶减少，甚至死亡。这种寄生虫也是中东、亚洲和南美洲部分地区人类的主要食源性病原体。目前，人们非常关注开发预防和控制家畜片形吸虫病的新方法。基因组学和生物信息学的最新技术进步为通过更好地了解肝片形吸虫及其相关物种的生物学特性及其与宿主在分子水平上的关系，鉴定和初步验证药物靶点和疫苗提供了独特的机会。令人惊讶的是，尽管片形吸虫病具有广泛的社会经济影响，但肝片形吸虫的基因组数据集却很少，限制了对这种寄生虫的分子生物学研究。本文特别探讨了使用综合基因组-生物信息学平台对肝片形吸虫成虫阶段的转录组进行研究。对当前数据的分析揭示了许多具有生物学意义的分子，其中一些分子被推断参与关键的生物学过程或途径，这些过程或途径可能成为新的抗吸虫药物或疫苗的靶点。对肝片形吸虫转录组的深入了解，应该为未来对这种寄生虫以及相关寄生虫（如巨片形吸虫、致癌的华支睾吸虫和肝片形吸虫）和血液吸虫（曼氏血吸虫和日本血吸虫）其他发育阶段的转录组进行比较分析铺平道路。预测基因及其产物的必要性、吸虫基因的分子网络连通性以及功能的实验探索，也应该为未来以生物技术为重点的基因组发现工作增加价值。
