Research Article

Transcriptional Fusions of Putative G‐protein Coupled‐Receptors from Hookworm (Ancylostoma ceylanicum) Expressed in Caenorhabditis elegans

Published: 2018-4

Journal: The FASEB Journal

DOI: 10.1096/fasebj.2018.32.1_supplement.808.4

Abstract

Many parasites, including hookworms of the genusAncylostoma, are specialists and require host‐specific signals to resume development upon infection. Although little is known about the nature of these signaling molecules, evolutionary conservation between hookworms and the model nematodeC. eleganssuggests that hookworm host‐signal receptors are likely to be G‐protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) that are expressed in amphid neurons. Based on bioinformatic analysis of developmental stage‐specific RNA‐Seq data fromA. caninumandA. ceylanicum, predicted hookworm GPCRs with increased expression levels during the infective larval stage 3 (iL3) were identified. Approximately 1500 bp of genomic sequence upstream of the predicted start site for the putativeA. ceylanicumGPCRs were fused to green fluorescent protein (GFP) coding sequence to generate promoter‐GFP transcriptional fusion constructs, which were microinjected intoC. elegans. Of nine hookworm promoter fusions tested, four drove differential GFP expression inC. eleganstissues, including the digestive tract, pharynx, and a neuron pair. Preliminary analysis identified the neurons as interneurons, potentially involved in locomotion responses to chemosensory input inC. elegans. The putative GPCR encoded by the neuronally expressed gene is upregulated in bothA. ceylanicumandA. caninum, suggesting that it may play a general role in hookworm development during host infection. These experiments indicate that hookworm promoters can be expressed inC. elegans, providing a surrogate system for the study of hookworm gene expression patterns. This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published inThe FASEB Journal.

Faculty Members

  • James Bernot - Microbiology, Immunology & Tropical Medicine George Washington University Washington DC
  • Meseret Haile - Microbiology, Immunology & Tropical Medicine George Washington University Washington DC
  • Ramesh Ratnappan - Microbiology, Immunology & Tropical Medicine George Washington University Washington DC
  • Patti T. Erickson - Biological Sciences Salisbury University Salisbury MD
  • John M. Hawdon - Microbiology, Immunology & Tropical Medicine George Washington University Washington DC

Themes

  • Model organisms in research
  • Parasite biology
  • Gene expression analysis
  • Host-parasite interactions
  • Developmental signaling mechanisms
  • Evolutionary biology

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