Transcriptional profiles in Strongyloides stercoralis males reveal deviations from the Caenorhabditis sex determination model
Abstract The human and canine parasitic nematode Strongyloides stercoralis utilizes an XX/XO sex determination system, with parasitic females reproducing by mitotic parthenogenesis and free-living males and females reproducing sexually. However, the genes controlling S. stercoralis sex determination...
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2021-04-01
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-87478-3 |
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doaj-4af44b54378442aea9e52bf6c26c76ad2021-04-18T11:39:21ZengNature Publishing GroupScientific Reports2045-23222021-04-0111111610.1038/s41598-021-87478-3Transcriptional profiles in Strongyloides stercoralis males reveal deviations from the Caenorhabditis sex determination modelDamia Gonzalez Akimori0Emily J. Dalessandro1Thomas J. Nolan2Christopher R. Stieha3James B. Lok4Jonathan D. C. Stoltzfus5Department of Biology, Millersville University of PennsylvaniaDepartment of Biology, Millersville University of PennsylvaniaDepartment of Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of PennsylvaniaDepartment of Biology, Millersville University of PennsylvaniaDepartment of Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of PennsylvaniaDepartment of Biology, Millersville University of PennsylvaniaAbstract The human and canine parasitic nematode Strongyloides stercoralis utilizes an XX/XO sex determination system, with parasitic females reproducing by mitotic parthenogenesis and free-living males and females reproducing sexually. However, the genes controlling S. stercoralis sex determination and male development are unknown. We observed precocious development of rhabditiform males in permissive hosts treated with corticosteroids, suggesting that steroid hormones can regulate male development. To examine differences in transcript abundance between free-living adult males and other developmental stages, we utilized RNA-Seq. We found two clusters of S. stercoralis-specific genes encoding predicted transmembrane proteins that are only expressed in free-living males. We additionally identified homologs of several genes important for sex determination in Caenorhabditis species, including mab-3, tra-1, fem-2, and sex-1, which may have similar functions. However, we identified three paralogs of gld-1; Ss-qki-1 transcripts were highly abundant in adult males, while Ss-qki-2 and Ss-qki-3 transcripts were highly abundant in adult females. We also identified paralogs of pumilio domain-containing proteins with sex-specific transcripts. Intriguingly, her-1 appears to have been lost in several parasite lineages, and we were unable to identify homologs of tra-2 outside of Caenorhabditis species. Together, our data suggest that different mechanisms control male development in S. stercoralis and Caenorhabditis species.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-87478-3 |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Damia Gonzalez Akimori Emily J. Dalessandro Thomas J. Nolan Christopher R. Stieha James B. Lok Jonathan D. C. Stoltzfus |
spellingShingle |
Damia Gonzalez Akimori Emily J. Dalessandro Thomas J. Nolan Christopher R. Stieha James B. Lok Jonathan D. C. Stoltzfus Transcriptional profiles in Strongyloides stercoralis males reveal deviations from the Caenorhabditis sex determination model Scientific Reports |
author_facet |
Damia Gonzalez Akimori Emily J. Dalessandro Thomas J. Nolan Christopher R. Stieha James B. Lok Jonathan D. C. Stoltzfus |
author_sort |
Damia Gonzalez Akimori |
title |
Transcriptional profiles in Strongyloides stercoralis males reveal deviations from the Caenorhabditis sex determination model |
title_short |
Transcriptional profiles in Strongyloides stercoralis males reveal deviations from the Caenorhabditis sex determination model |
title_full |
Transcriptional profiles in Strongyloides stercoralis males reveal deviations from the Caenorhabditis sex determination model |
title_fullStr |
Transcriptional profiles in Strongyloides stercoralis males reveal deviations from the Caenorhabditis sex determination model |
title_full_unstemmed |
Transcriptional profiles in Strongyloides stercoralis males reveal deviations from the Caenorhabditis sex determination model |
title_sort |
transcriptional profiles in strongyloides stercoralis males reveal deviations from the caenorhabditis sex determination model |
publisher |
Nature Publishing Group |
series |
Scientific Reports |
issn |
2045-2322 |
publishDate |
2021-04-01 |
description |
Abstract The human and canine parasitic nematode Strongyloides stercoralis utilizes an XX/XO sex determination system, with parasitic females reproducing by mitotic parthenogenesis and free-living males and females reproducing sexually. However, the genes controlling S. stercoralis sex determination and male development are unknown. We observed precocious development of rhabditiform males in permissive hosts treated with corticosteroids, suggesting that steroid hormones can regulate male development. To examine differences in transcript abundance between free-living adult males and other developmental stages, we utilized RNA-Seq. We found two clusters of S. stercoralis-specific genes encoding predicted transmembrane proteins that are only expressed in free-living males. We additionally identified homologs of several genes important for sex determination in Caenorhabditis species, including mab-3, tra-1, fem-2, and sex-1, which may have similar functions. However, we identified three paralogs of gld-1; Ss-qki-1 transcripts were highly abundant in adult males, while Ss-qki-2 and Ss-qki-3 transcripts were highly abundant in adult females. We also identified paralogs of pumilio domain-containing proteins with sex-specific transcripts. Intriguingly, her-1 appears to have been lost in several parasite lineages, and we were unable to identify homologs of tra-2 outside of Caenorhabditis species. Together, our data suggest that different mechanisms control male development in S. stercoralis and Caenorhabditis species. |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-87478-3 |
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