Cloning and functional characterization of two calmodulin genes during larval development in the parasitic flatworm Schistosoma mansoni.

ABSTRACT: Schistosomiasis is endemic in over 70 countries, in which more than 200 million people are infected with the various schistosome species. Understanding the physiological processes underlying key developmental events could be useful in developing novel chemotherapeutic reagents or infection intervention strategies. Calmodulin is a small, calcium-sensing protein found in all eukaryotes and, although the protein has been previously identified in various Schistosoma mansoni stages and implicated in egg hatching and miracidia transformation, few molecular and functional data are available for this essential protein. Herein, we report the molecular cloning, expression, and functional characterization of calmodulin in the miracidia and primary sporocyst stages of S. mansoni. Two transcripts, SmCa

SUBMITTER: Taft AS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3666858 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature