Transcriptome Analysis of Schistosoma mansoni Adult Worms
Author Information
Author(s): Ojopi Elida PB, Oliveira Paulo SL, Nunes Diana N, Paquola Apuã, DeMarco Ricardo, Gregório Sheila P, Aires Karina A, Menck Carlos FM, Leite Luciana CC, Verjovski-Almeida Sergio, Dias-Neto Emmanuel
Primary Institution: Laboratório de Neurociências (LIM27), Instituto de Psiquiatria, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo
Hypothesis
This study aims to quantitatively analyze the transcriptome of Schistosoma mansoni adult worms using SAGE.
Conclusion
The study found that SAGE revealed the frequency of expression of the majority of S. mansoni genes and suggested that alternative polyadenylation is likely used in controlling mRNA stability.
Supporting Evidence
- The study generated 68,238 tags covering more than 6,000 genes expressed in adult S. mansoni.
- 46.9% of the total ditags could not be mapped, indicating many rare transcripts remain unidentified.
- Mapping suggested alternative polyadenylation occurs in at least 13 gene transcripts.
- Transcriptome data showed a correlation of about 50% with available proteomic data.
Takeaway
Researchers looked at the genes of a type of flatworm that causes a disease called schistosomiasis and found out how often these genes are used. They also learned that some genes can change how long they are, which might help the worm survive.
Methodology
The study used Serial Analysis of Gene Expression (SAGE) to analyze mRNA extracted from pooled male and female adult worms.
Potential Biases
There may be bias due to the limited number of tags generated, which could affect the representation of low-expressed genes.
Limitations
The study's findings are limited by the inability to tag very rare transcripts and the potential for non-specific tags.
Participant Demographics
The study focused on adult Schistosoma mansoni worms, specifically pooled male and female specimens.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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