S.japonicum Digital Gene Expression

Schistosoma japonicum is one of the remarkable platyhelminths that are endemic in the South Asian countries. The parasite is dioecious and can parasitize inside host blood stream for many years. Rapid reproduction by producing large number of eggs and count-react or active manipulating host anti-parasite responses are the strategies that benefit the long term parasitization of the parasite. Currently, Praziquantel is the only commercial drug that is effective against the worms but not the eggs of parasite in the host and no vaccine available to prevent human or animal schistosomiasis. Development of novel antiparasite reagents and immune-prevention measures rely on the deciphering of parasite biology. The decoding of the genomic sequence of the parasite has made it possible to dissect the biological functions of genes that govern the development of the parasite inside the hosts. In this study, the polyadenylated RNA from male and female S. japonicum was isolated and deep sequenced. By comparative analysis on the transcriptomic differences of the two sexes of the parasite, potential genes or gender-specific biological pathways can be targeted. Overall design: Messenger RNA from male and female S. japonicum parasite was selectively purified from total RNA using oligo-(dT) conjugated magnetic beads. Complementary DNA (cDNA) was synthesized guided by oligo-(dT) as a primer.