Data from: Gene expression profiles associated with the transition to parasitism in Ancylostoma caninum larvae

Ancylostoma caninum is a common canine parasite responsible for anemia and
death in infected dogs. Gene expression profiling was used to investigate
molecular differences between two different forms of the third larval
stage (L3s): infective free-living larvae and in vitro serum-stimulated
larvae that mimic the initial stages of parasitism of a host. We developed
an A. caninum cDNA microarray consisting of 4191 EST clones, and used it
to identify a set of 113 genes that are differentially regulated between
infective and parasitic larval stages. Real-time RT-PCR was used to
confirm the expression differences of a subset of the genes. Of the genes
repressed upon serum stimulation, seven encode members of the
'Ancylostoma secreted protein' ASP family, while another
transcript encoding a 24 kDa excretory protein with similarity to ASP was
up-regulated in serum-stimulated L3s. This suggests that different members
of a protein family that has important implications for the
hookworm's parasitic lifestyle are regulated in a complementary
manner in response to serum stimulation. Comparison of two strains of A.
caninum from North Carolina and Maryland only identified a single gene,
one of the members of the ASP family, that was differentially repressed
upon serum stimulation.