Journal article
mRNA sequences for Haemonchus contortus intestinal cathepsin B-like cysteine proteases display an extreme in abundance and diversity compared with other adult mammalian parasitic nematodes
Molecular and biochemical parasitology, Vol.137(2), pp.297-305
2004
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/113392
PMID: 15383300
Abstract
Cathepsin B-like cysteine protease (
cbl) genes produce the most abundant mRNAs (∼16%) detected in the adult female intestine of the parasitic nematode
Haemonchus contortus. CBL enzymes appear to digest host proteins and are vaccine candidates for immune control of
H. contortus and potentially other parasitic nematodes. Hence, it is important to quantify the extent of diversity of
H. contortus
cbl genes. Here, expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were used to assess both the size and diversity of the
H. contortus
cbl gene family. Contig analysis of 686
cbl ESTs from a USA isolate resolved 123 clusters. ESTs were grouped into discrete sets and analyzed using an additive model. Discovery of new
cbl clusters increased with each set and reached a terminal rate of about 1 per 10 ESTs. The extreme diversity was unique to
cbls relative to other genes investigated and was ascribed to specific
cbl clades. Sixty percent of
cbl clusters from a UK isolate were shared with those identified in the USA isolate, suggesting conservation of
cbl gene repertoires across regions, although minor to moderate geographic variation cannot be excluded. Sequence comparisons also suggested high potential for antigenic diversity among CBL proteins, which is relevant to vaccine strategies. Compared to other parasitic nematodes of mammals, the extreme abundance and diversity of intestinal
cbl transcripts appear to be relative specializations for
H. contortus. Therefore, adaptations related to nutrient acquisition may vary markedly among these parasitic nematodes.
Metrics
3 Record Views
Details
- Title
- mRNA sequences for Haemonchus contortus intestinal cathepsin B-like cysteine proteases display an extreme in abundance and diversity compared with other adult mammalian parasitic nematodes
- Creators
- Douglas P Jasmer - Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 9916407040, USAMakedonka Dautova Mitreva - Genome Sequencing Center, Washington University Schoool of Medicine, Campus Box 8501, 4444 Forest Park Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63108, USAJames P McCarter - Genome Sequencing Center, Washington University Schoool of Medicine, Campus Box 8501, 4444 Forest Park Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA
- Publication Details
- Molecular and biochemical parasitology, Vol.137(2), pp.297-305
- Academic Unit
- Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, Department of
- Publisher
- Elsevier B.V
- Identifiers
- 99900547704001842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article