Eimeria tenella is one of the most pathogenic parasites in chickens and is associated with high mortality and great economic impact. Whole genome sequencing of the parasite has not been completed, potentially limiting the opportunity for identification of drug targets for prevention. In the present study, we conducted RNA sequencing to obtain transcriptome information from sporulating oocysts, and sporozoites. A Blastx search of GenBank databases revealed that 3,369 genes of the 25,880 contigs had been significantly identified, which contained high numbers of enzymes associated with glycolysis, TCA, and the pentose-phosphate pathway. Most of the enzymes, when measured by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR, were up-regulated during the sporulation stage. These results suggest that the intracellular carbohydrate amylopectin could be an energy source in ATP production including glycolysis and the pentose-phosphate pathway. Our data also suggest that E. tenella might have a partial or similar pathway to the TCA cycle that is essential for aerobic respiration. Furthermore, the newly annotated and non-annotated contigs might contain E. tenella–specific or novel sequences. That can potentially be used in the identification of drug targets.
(Bacterial and Parasitic Disease Research Division)
References:
Matsubayashi, M. et al (2013) Infect. Genet. Evol. 18:269-76
