Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic.
Department of Veterinary Biosciences, Melbourne Veterinary School, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010, Australia.
Sci Rep. 2019 Feb 4;9(1):1347. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-37669-2.
Trichobilharzia species are parasitic flatworms (called schistosomes or flukes) that cause important diseases in birds and humans, but very little is known about their molecular biology. Here, using a transcriptomics-bioinformatics-based approach, we explored molecular aspects pertaining to the nutritional requirements of Trichobilharzia szidati ('visceral fluke') and T. regenti ('neurotropic fluke') in their avian host. We studied the larvae of each species before they enter (cercariae) and as they migrate (schistosomules) through distinct tissues in their avian (duck) host. Cercariae of both species were enriched for pathways or molecules associated predominantly with carbohydrate metabolism, oxidative phosphorylation and translation of proteins linked to ribosome biogenesis, exosome production and/or lipid biogenesis. Schistosomules of both species were enriched for pathways or molecules associated with processes including signal transduction, cell turnover and motility, DNA replication and repair, molecular transport and/or catabolism. Comparative informatic analyses identified molecular repertoires (within, e.g., peptidases and secretory proteins) in schistosomules that can broadly degrade macromolecules in both T. szidati and T. regenti, and others that are tailored to each species to selectively acquire nutrients from particular tissues through which it migrates. Thus, this study provides molecular evidence for distinct modes of nutrient acquisition between the visceral and neurotropic flukes of birds.
细粒棘球绦虫属是寄生扁形动物（称为血吸虫或吸虫），可引起鸟类和人类的重要疾病，但对其分子生物学知之甚少。在这里，我们使用基于转录组学-生物信息学的方法，探讨了 Trichobilharzia szidati（“内脏吸虫”）和 T. regenti（“神经吸虫”）在其鸟类宿主中与营养需求相关的分子方面。我们研究了每种幼虫在进入（尾蚴）和迁移（毛蚴）到其鸟类（鸭）宿主的不同组织时的特征。两种物种的尾蚴都富含与碳水化合物代谢、氧化磷酸化和核糖体生物发生、外泌体产生和/或脂质生物发生相关的蛋白质翻译相关的途径或分子。两种物种的毛蚴都富含与信号转导、细胞更新和运动、DNA 复制和修复、分子运输和/或分解代谢等过程相关的途径或分子。比较信息分析确定了毛蚴中的分子谱（例如，肽酶和分泌蛋白），这些分子谱可以广泛降解 T. szidati 和 T. regenti 中的大分子，而其他分子谱则针对每种物种进行了定制，可以通过其迁移的特定组织选择性地获取营养物质。因此，这项研究为鸟类内脏吸虫和神经吸虫之间不同的营养获取模式提供了分子证据。
