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Preliminary characterization and expression of Vasa-like gene in Schistosoma japonicum

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Abstract

The Vasa gene is a vital germline marker to study the origin and development of germ cells and gonads in many organisms. Until now, little information was available about the characteristics of the Vasa gene in Schistosoma japonicum (S. japonicum). In this study, we cloned the open reading frame (ORF) of the S. japonicum Vasa-like gene (Sj-Vasa). The expression pattern and tissue localization of Sj-Vasa were also analyzed. Our results showed that Sj-Vasa shared the general feature of DEAD-box family member proteins. Sj-Vasa was transcribed and expressed throughout the S. japonicum life cycle with transcription exhibiting high levels at day 24 in both male and female worms, and the expression level in the female was always higher than that in the male. Sj-Vasa protein was localized in a variety of tissues of adult schistosomes, including the gonads (ovary, vitellarium, and testes), the subtegument, and some cells of the parenchyma. To our knowledge, this is the first report of preliminary characterization and expression of the Vasa-like gene that may play an important role in the development of the worm, especially in reproductive organs of S. japonicum.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (no. 81271815) and Scientific Research of BSKY (XJ201321) from Anhui Medical University. We thank Dr. Lili Xu (Anhui Huaqi Biotech Engineering, LLC) for modifying the manuscript. And we thank Fei Yang, Haiyan Cheng, and Dake Huang in our laboratory for their generous assistance during the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Anhui Provincial Laboratory of Microbiology and Parasitology, Anhui Medical University, 81# Meishan Road, Hefei, Anhui, 230032, People’s Republic of China

    Yujie Diao, Mengqing Hua, Yanjing Shao, Wei Huang, Miao Liu, Cuiping Ren, Yongsheng Ji & Jijia Shen

  2. Clinical laboratory, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, 372# Tunxi Road, Hefei, Anhui, 230022, People’s Republic of China

    Yujie Diao & Jianmin Chen

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  1. Yujie Diao
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Correspondence to Jijia Shen.

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Diao, Y., Hua, M., Shao, Y. et al. Preliminary characterization and expression of Vasa-like gene in Schistosoma japonicum . Parasitol Res 114, 2679–2687 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-015-4473-4

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