Small non-coding RNAs have predicted roles in reproductive biology and transposable element regulation in the parasitic worm Strongyloides venezuelensis.

The gastrointestinal parasitic nematode Strongyloides spp. has a unique life cycle that alternates between a parasitic generation that reproduces through mitotic parthenogenesis and a dioecious free-living sexually reproducing generation. Adult females from these two generations are genetically identical, making them an informative model to identify molecular differences between parasitic and free-living lifestyles and understand different reproductive strategies.

: omics to worm-free populations.

This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue ': omics to worm-free populations'.

stepRNA: Identification of Dicer cleavage signatures and passenger strand lengths in small RNA sequences.

The enzyme Dicer is a component of many small RNA (sRNA) pathways involved in RNA processing for post-transcriptional regulation, anti-viral response and control of transposable elements. Cleavage of double-stranded RNA by Dicer produces a signature overhanging sequence at the 3' end of the sRNA sequence relative to a complementary passenger strand in a RNA duplex. There is a need for reliable tools to computationally search for Dicer cleavage signatures to help characterise families of sRNAs.

piRNA-like small RNAs target transposable elements in a Clade IV parasitic nematode.

The small RNA (sRNA) pathways identified in the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans are not widely conserved across nematodes. For example, the PIWI pathway and PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) are involved in regulating and silencing transposable elements (TE) in most animals but have been lost in nematodes outside of the C. elegans group (Clade V), and little is known about how nematodes regulate TEs in the absence of the PIWI pathway.

Sequential Changes in the Host Gut Microbiota During Infection With the Intestinal Parasitic Nematode .

Soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) are medically important parasites that infect 1. 5 billion humans globally, causing a substantial disease burden. These parasites infect the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of their host where they co-exist and interact with the host gut bacterial flora, leading to the coevolution of the parasites, microbiota, and host organisms.

Biology and genome of a newly discovered sibling species of Caenorhabditis elegans.

A 'sibling' species of the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans has long been sought for use in comparative analyses that would enable deep evolutionary interpretations of biological phenomena. Here, we describe the first sibling species of C. elegans, C.

Comparative transcriptomics gives insights into the evolution of parasitism in Strongyloides nematodes at the genus, subclade and species level.

Strongyloides spp., gastrointestinal nematode parasites of humans and other animals, have genetically identical parasitic and free-living adult life cycle stages. This is an almost unique feature amongst nematodes and comparison of these two stages can provide insights into the genetic basis and evolution of Strongyloides nematode parasitism.

The use of Oxford Nanopore native barcoding for complete genome assembly.

Background: The Oxford Nanopore Technologies MinION(TM) is a mobile DNA sequencer that can produce long read sequences with a short turn-around time. Here we report the first demonstration of single contig genome assembly using Oxford Nanopore native barcoding when applied to a multiplexed library of 12 samples and combined with existing Illumina short read data. This paves the way for the closure of multiple bacterial genomes from a single MinION(TM) sequencing run, given the availability of existing short read data.

The genome of Strongyloides spp. gives insights into protein families with a putative role in nematode parasitism.

Parasitic nematodes are important and abundant parasites adapted to live a parasitic lifestyle, with these adaptations all aimed at facilitating their survival and reproduction in their hosts. The recently sequenced genomes of four Strongyloides species, gastrointestinal parasites of humans and other animals, alongside transcriptomic and proteomic analysis of free-living and parasitic stages of their life cycles have revealed a number of protein families with a putative role in their parasitism. Many of these protein families have also been associated with parasitism in other parasitic nematode species, suggesting that these proteins may play a fundamental role in nematode parasitism more generally.

The genomic basis of parasitism in the Strongyloides clade of nematodes.

Soil-transmitted nematodes, including the Strongyloides genus, cause one of the most prevalent neglected tropical diseases. Here we compare the genomes of four Strongyloides species, including the human pathogen Strongyloides stercoralis, and their close relatives that are facultatively parasitic (Parastrongyloides trichosuri) and free-living (Rhabditophanes sp. KR3021).

Cold-seeking behaviour mitigates reproductive losses from fungal infection in Drosophila.

Animals must tailor their life-history strategies to suit the prevailing conditions and respond to hazards in the environment. Animals with lethal infections are faced with a difficult choice: to allocate more resources to reproduction and suffer higher mortality or to reduce reproduction with the expectation of enhanced immunity and late-age reproduction. However, the strategies employed to mediate shifts in life-history traits are largely unknown.

Hormesis results in trade-offs with immunity.

Many have argued that we may be able to extend life and improve human health through hormesis, the beneficial effects of low-level toxins and other stressors. But, studies of hormesis in model systems have not yet established whether stress-induced benefits are cost free, artifacts of inbreeding, or come with deleterious side effects. Here, we provide evidence that hormesis results in trade-offs with immunity.