Preliminary analysis of miRNA pathway in Schistosoma mansoni.
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Date
2009
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Abstract
RNA silencing refers to a series of nuclear and cytoplasmatic processes involved in the post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression or post-transcriptional gene silencing (PTGS), either by sequence-specific mRNA degradation or by translational arrest. The best characterized small RNAs are microRNAs (miRNAs), which predominantly perform gene silencing through post-transcriptional mechanisms. In this work we used bioinformatic approaches to identify the parasitic trematode Schistosoma mansoni sequences that are similar to enzymes involved in the post-transcriptional gene silencing mediated by miRNA pathway.We used amino acid sequences of well-known proteins involved in the miRNA pathway against S. mansoni genome and transcriptome databases identifying a total of 13 putative proteins in the parasite. In addition, the transcript levels of SmDicer1 and SmAgo2/3/4 were identified by qRT-PCR using cercariae, adult worms, eggs and in vitro cultivated schistosomula. Our results showed that the SmDicer1 and SmAgo2/3/4 are differentially expressed during schistosomula development, suggesting that the miRNA pathway is regulated at the transcript level and therefore may control gene expression during the life cycle of S. mansoni.
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Keywords
Schistosoma mansoni, Gene expression, Post-transcriptional gene silencing
Citation
GOMES, M. de S. et al. Preliminary analysis of miRNA pathway in Schistosoma mansoni. Parasitology International, v. 58, p. 61-68, 2009. Disponível em: <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1383576908001165>. Acesso em: 08 nov. 2014.