Project description:Global transcriptional responses in duodenal intestinal epithelia of chickens following primary and secondary Eimeria acervulina infections.
Project description:We constructed genetically modified Eimeria acervulina that expressed VP2 protein, a protective antigen from infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV), on the surface or in the microneme of sporozoites. we identified the transgenic E. acervulina expressing VP2 by RT-qPCR,LC-MSMS and Werstern Blot.
Project description:Whole sporozoite proteins of Eimeria acervulina were prepared and analyzed by 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) followed by Western blotting using immune sera specific to E. tenella, E. acervulina, or E. necatrix.
Project description:Global transcriptional responses in duodenal intestinal epithelia of chickens following primary and secondary Eimeria acervulina infections. Simple loop hybridization (day 0 vs. days 1-2, days 1-2 vs. 3-4, days 3-4 vs. 5-6, and days 5-6 vs. 7-8) per primary or secondary infections.
Project description:In a collaboration between Welcome Trust Sanger Institute (WTSI), Royal Veterinary College (RVC) and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), we have sequenced, assembled and annotated the genome of Eimeria acervulina Houghton.
Project description:Enteric coccidian parasites harm agriculture and human health. Infectious, sporulated parasites eventually senesce. Here, we examined transcriptional changes in sporulated oocysts of Eimeria acervulina stored for 4-30 months at 4°C. Precipitous decline in RNA abundance and transcription followed an interval of stability. Sixty constitutively expressed genes each contributed >1,000 transcripts per million (TPM) throughout, including a serine protease inhibitor, surface antigen genes, a cation-transporting ATPase, an oocyst wall protein, a zinc finger DHHC domain-containing protein, and highly expressed hypothetical proteins with no known function. Strikingly, ~82% of 6,867 annotated genes underwent differential expression when comparing freshly sporulated parasites to those held for 30 months; nearly one-third of these underwent significant expression change. In freshly sporulated oocysts, 86 significantly DEGs exceeded 1,000 TPM; these encoded heat shock proteins, lactate dehydrogenase, glucose- 6 isomerase, and various hypothetical proteins. The oldest parasites expressed 66 DEGs, including many ribosomal subunits, a haloacid dehalogenase-like hydrolase domain-containing protein, and various hypothetical proteins. Taken together, we identified markers of mature parasites that remain relatively abundant in the transcript pool as oocysts age and identified other transcripts (e.g. ribosomal RNA) that increase in their relative abundance even as RNA abundance declines in senescent parasites.
Project description:Intraspecific phenotypic variation markedly influences the damage that parasites inflict on their hosts. Such is the case for strains of Eimeria maxima, a costly enteric parasite of poultry, where strain APU-1 exhibits greater pathogenicity than APU-2. Here, we examined how these strains differ as oocysts mature to the fully-sporulated stage. We performed mi-croscopy and RNA-Sequencing on oocysts at regular intervals (6-12 hours) during sporulation. Although each strain underwent parallel development, APU-1 initially approached maturation more slowly. Each strain achieved full sporu-lation and similar transcription profiles by hour 36, after which strains appeared to diverge. These differences may in-fluence subsequent virulence. Candidate biomarkers of oocyst viability include 58 genes contributing at least 1,000 Transcripts Per Million throughout sporulation. Many genes resemble constitutively expressed genes also important to Eimeria acervulina. Mature and immature oocysts differentially express certain genes. Expression of some such bi-omarkers appears strain-specific. These data illuminate processes that may generally underlie sporulation in Eimeria and related genera, such as Cyclospora, and identify biological processes which differentiate among them. Drivers of devel-opment and senescence may provide tools to assess the viability of oocysts, which would greatly benefit the poultry industry and food safety applications.