New Frontiers inSchistosomaGenomics and Transcriptomics

Abstract

Schistosomes are digenean blood flukes of aves and mammals comprising 23 species. Some species are causative agents of human schistosomiasis, the second major neglected disease affecting over 230 million people worldwide. Modern technologies including the sequencing and characterization of nucleic acids and proteins have allowed large-scale analyses of parasites and hosts, opening new frontiers in biological research with potential biomedical and biotechnological applications. Nuclear genomes of the three most socioeconomically important species (S. haematobium, S. japonicum, and S. mansoni) have been sequenced and are under intense investigation. Mitochondrial genomes of six Schistosoma species have also been completely sequenced and analysed from an evolutionary perspective. Furthermore, DNA barcoding of mitochondrial sequences is used for biodiversity assessment of schistosomes. Despite the efforts in the characterization of Schistosoma genomes and transcriptomes, many questions regarding the biology and evolution of this important taxon remain unanswered. This paper aims to discuss some advances in the schistosome research with emphasis on genomics and transcriptomics. It also aims to discuss the main challenges of the current research and to point out some future directions in schistosome studies.

Crystal Structure of a Schistosoma mansoni Septin Reveals the Phenomenon of Strand Slippage in Septins Dependent on the Nature of the Bound Nucleotide

“…Schistosoma mansoni is one of the major species responsible for the neglected tropical disease schistosomiasis, which affects over 230 million people in 77 countries worldwide (17). The genomic data recently published for this flatworm has opened up a series of novel opportunities for the study of unique features of its metabolism and evolution.…”

Menace of Schistosomiasis: Its True Neglected Nature in Nigeria

“…Single dose of Praziquantel per year can help control the disease. This can be best achieved through mass drug administration to school children and high risk communities [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27]. Because most people are often unaware of genital schistosomiasis, less medical attention has been given to it; consequently, misdiagnosis has resulted in false and ineffective therapy .…”

“…It has been re-emphasized by King [30] that schistosomiasis in its nature is truly a chronic inflammatory disease of the intestines, urinary tract or organs since eggs of Schistosoma spp cause inflammation and damage of tissues due to immune-mediated reactions. Schistosomiasis causes economic and health burdens by disabling a sufferer, as well as leads to death of between 14,000 [33] to estimated 200,000 per year [24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31]. Intestinal schistosomiasis causes damage to intestines, liver.…”

Biophysical dissection of schistosome septins: Insights into oligomerization and membrane binding

“…Here we focus on the septins found in Schistosoma mansoni, the major species responsible for the neglected disease schistosomiasis in America [20]. S. mansoni contains only four septin genes, named with respect to their similarity to human septinsSmSEPT5, SmSEPT10, SmSEPT7.1 and SmSEPT7.2 [21].…”