Identification of cell cycle-related genes up-regulated during the G2-phase in Giardia lamblia

To identify the component(s) involved in cell cycle control in the protozoan Giardia lamblia, cells arrested at the G1- or G2-phase by treatment with nocodazole and aphidicolin were prepared from the synchronized cell cultures. RNA-sequencing analysis of the two stages of Giardia cell cycle identified several cell cycle genes that were up-regulated at the G2-phase. This result indicates that the cell cycle machinery operates in this protozoan, one of the earliest diverging eukaryotic lineages. mRNA expression profiles of the arrested Giardia trophozoites at G1- and G2-phase by treatment with nocodazole and aphidicolin, using Illumina Hi-seq 4000.