Abstract
In the present study, the potential of RNA interference (RNAi) as a gene silencing tool and the resultant effects on Ascaris suum larval development was examined by targeting a gene (represented by the EST 06G09) specifically expressed in the infective larvae of A. suum. BALB/c mice were infected with RNAi-treated larvae. The results showed that the target gene was silenced after soaking for 72 h, and the survival rate of the RNAi-treated larvae was reduced by 17.25% (P < 0.01). A significant difference (P < 0.05) was detected in the numbers of larvae collected from the livers and lungs of infected mice 4 days after infection with untreated larvae (164.29 ± 21.51) and RNAi-treated larvae (71.43 ± 14.35). Significant differences (P < 0.01) were also found in the body length and width between untreated larvae (480 ± 105.77 μm for length and 23.93 ± 3.72 μm for width) and RNAi-treated larvae (400.57 ± 71.31 μm for length and 20.20 ± 2.43 μm for width). These results show that the gene represented by EST 06G09 may play a role in the development of A. suum larvae.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported in part by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 30671578), the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (grant no. 7006652), the Yunnan Provincial Program for Introducing High-level Scientists (Grant No. 2009CI125), and the State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, CAAS to XQZ. The authors thank Prof Robin Gasser of the Department of Veterinary Science, the University of Melbourne, Australia, for improving the manuscript. The experiments comply with the current laws of the country in which the experiments were performed.
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Xu, M.J., Chen, N., Song, H.Q. et al. RNAi-mediated silencing of a novel Ascaris suum gene expression in infective larvae. Parasitol Res 107, 1499–1503 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-010-2027-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-010-2027-3