Clinical validation of molecular markers of macrocyclic lactone resistance in Dirofilaria immitis.

Prophylaxis with macrocyclic lactone (ML) endectocides is the primary strategy for heartworm control. Recent evidence has confirmed that ML-resistant Dirofilaria immitis isolates have evolved. Comparison of genomes of ML-resistant isolates show they are genetically distinct from wild-type populations. Previously, we identified single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that are correlated with phenotypic ML resistance. Since reliable in vitro assays are not available to detect ML resistance in L3 or microfilarial stages, the failure to reduce microfilaraemia in infected dogs treated with an ML has been proposed as a surrogate clinical assay for this purpose. The goal of our study was to validate the genotype-phenotype correlation between SNPs associated with ML resistance and failure to reduce microfilaraemia following ML treatment and to identify a minimal number of SNPs that could be used to confirm ML resistance. In this study, 29 participating veterinary clinics received a total of 148 kits containing supplies for blood collection, dosing and prepaid shipping. Patients recruited after a diagnosis of heartworm infection were treated with a single standard dose of Advantage Multi® and a blood sample taken pre- and approximately 2-4 weeks post-treatment. Each sample was processed by performing a modified Knott's Test followed by isolation of microfilariae, genomic DNA extraction and MiSeq sequencing of regions encompassing 10 SNP sites highly correlated with ML resistance. We observed significant correlation of SNP loci frequencies with the ML microfilaricidal response phenotype. Although all predictive SNP combination models performed well, a 2-SNP model was superior to other models tested. The predictive ability of these markers for ML-resistant heartworms should be further evaluated in clinical and epidemiological contexts.

Discovery of genomic intervals that underlie nematode responses to benzimidazoles.

Parasitic nematodes impose a debilitating health and economic burden across much of the world. Nematode resistance to anthelmintic drugs threatens parasite control efforts in both human and veterinary medicine. Despite this threat, the genetic landscape of potential resistance mechanisms to these critical drugs remains largely unexplored. Here, we exploit natural variation in the model nematodes Caenorhabditis elegans and Caenorhabditis briggsae to discover quantitative trait loci (QTL) that control sensitivity to benzimidazoles widely used in human and animal medicine. High-throughput phenotyping of albendazole, fenbendazole, mebendazole, and thiabendazole responses in panels of recombinant lines led to the discovery of over 15 QTL in C. elegans and four QTL in C. briggsae associated with divergent responses to these anthelmintics. Many of these QTL are conserved across benzimidazole derivatives, but others show drug and dose specificity. We used near-isogenic lines to recapitulate and narrow the C. elegans albendazole QTL of largest effect and identified candidate variants correlated with the resistance phenotype. These QTL do not overlap with known benzimidazole target resistance genes from parasitic nematodes and present specific new leads for the discovery of novel mechanisms of nematode benzimidazole resistance. Analyses of orthologous genes reveal conservation of candidate benzimidazole resistance genes in medically important parasitic nematodes. These data provide a basis for extending these approaches to other anthelmintic drug classes and a pathway towards validating new markers for anthelmintic resistance that can be deployed to improve parasite disease control.

Genome-wide identification and functional analysis of long noncoding RNAs involved in the response to graphene oxide.

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), which are defined as noncoding RNAs having at least 200 nucleotides, can potentially regulate various biological processes. However, the roles of lncRNAs in regulating cellular response to engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) are still unclear. Using Hiseq 2000 sequencing technique, we performed a genome-wide screen to identify lncRNAs involved in the control of toxicity of graphene oxide (GO) using in vivo Caenorhabditis elegans assay system. HiSeq 2000 sequencing, followed by quantitative analysis, identified only 34 dysregulated lncRNAs in GO exposed nematodes. Bioinformatics analysis implies the biological processes and signaling pathways mediated by candidate lncRNAs involved in the control of GO toxicity. A lncRNAs-miRNAs network possibly involved in the control of GO toxicity was further raised. Moreover, we identified the shared lncRNAs based on the molecular regulation basis for chemical surface modifications and/or genetic mutations in reducing GO toxicity. We further provide direct evidence that these shared lncRNAs, linc-37 and linc-14, were involved in the control of chemical surface modifications and genetic mutations in reducing GO toxicity. linc-37 binding to transcriptional factor FOXO/DAF-16 might be important for the control of GO toxicity. Our whole-genome identification and functional analysis of lncRNAs highlights the important roles of lncRNAs based molecular mechanisms for cellular responses to ENMs in organisms.

A protocol for chemical mutagenesis in Strongyloides ratti.

Genetic analysis using experimentally induced mutations has been a most valuable tool in the analysis of various organisms. However, genetic analysis of endoparasitic organisms tends to be difficult because of the limited accessibility of the sexually reproducing adults, which are normally located within the host. Nematodes of the genera Strogyloides and Parastrongyloides represent an exception to this because they can form facultative free-living sexually reproducing generations in between parasitic generations. Here we present a protocol for the chemical mutagenesis of Strongyloides ratti. Further we evaluate the feasibility of identifying the induced mutations by whole genome re-sequencing.

Robust and specific inhibition of microRNAs in Caenorhabditis elegans.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that regulate the expression of numerous target genes. Yet, while hundreds of miRNAs have been identified, little is known about their functions. In a recent report published in Silence, Zheng and colleagues demonstrate a technique for robust and specific knockdown of miRNA expression in Caenorhabditis elegans using modified antisense oligonucleotides, which could be utilized as a powerful tool for the study of regulation and function of miRNAs in vivo.