Transcriptomic and proteomic analyses of a Wolbachia-free filarial parasite provide evidence of trans-kingdom horizontal gene transfer.

ABSTRACT: Most filarial parasites in the subfamilies Onchocercinae and Dirofilariinae depend on Wolbachia endobacteria to successfully carry out their life cycle. Recently published data indicate that the few Wolbachia-free species in these subfamilies were infected in the distant past and have subsequently shed their endosymbionts. We used an integrated transcriptomic and proteomic analysis of Onchocerca flexuosa to explore the molecular mechanisms that allow worms of this species to survive without a bacterial partner. Roche/454 sequencing of the adult transcriptome produced 16,814 isogroup and 47,252 singleton sequences that are estimated to represent approximately 41% of the complete gene set. Sequences similar to 97 Wolbachia genes were identified from the transcriptome, some of which appear on

SUBMITTER: McNulty SN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3458923 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature