Comparative transcriptome analysis of non-germinated and germinated spores of Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei (EHP) in vitro

Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei (EHP), an obligate intracellular parasite classified as microsporidia, is an emerging pathogen with a significant impact on the global shrimp aquaculture industry. The understanding of how microsporidia germinate has been a key factor in exploring its infection process. However, the germination process of EHP was rarely reported. To gain insight into the germination process, we conducted a high-throughput sequencing analysis of purified EHP spores that had undergone in vitro germination treatment. This analysis revealed 137 differentially expressed genes, with 84 up-regulated and 53 down-regulated genes. While the functions of some of the genes remain unknown, this study provides important data on the transcriptomic changes before and after EHP germination, which can aid in further studies on the EHP infection mechanism.肝肠胞虫（Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei，EHP）是一种归类为微孢子虫的专性细胞内寄生虫，亦是一种对全球对虾养殖业造成严重影响的新兴病原。对微孢子虫萌发机制的解析，是探究其感染过程的核心环节。然而目前关于EHP萌发过程的研究报道极少。为深入解析EHP的萌发机制，本研究对经体外萌发处理的纯化EHP孢子开展了高通量测序分析，共鉴定得到137个差异表达基因，其中84个基因表达上调，53个基因表达下调。尽管部分基因的功能尚未明确，本研究仍为EHP萌发前后的转录组变化提供了关键数据，可为后续EHP感染机制的相关研究提供重要参考。