Comparative transcriptomic analysis of the larval and adult stages of Dibothriocephalus dendriticus (Cestoda: Diphyllobothriidea).

Tapeworms of the genus Dibothriocephalus are widely distributed throughout the world, some of which are agents of human diphyllobothriasis, one of the most important fish-borne zoonoses caused by a cestode parasite. Genomic and transcriptomic data can be used to develop future diagnostic tools and epidemiological studies. The present work focuses on a comparative analysis of the transcriptomes of adult and plerocercoid D. dendriticus and the identification of their differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Transcriptome assembly and analysis yielded and annotated 35,129 unigenes, noting that 16,568 (47%) unigenes were not annotated in known databases, which may indicate a unique set of expressed transcripts for D. dendriticus. A total of 8022 differentially expressed transcripts were identified, including 3225 upregulated and 4797 downregulated differentially expressed transcripts from the plerocercoid and adult animals. The analysis of DEGs has shown that among the most differentially expressed genes, there are important genes characteristic of each stage. Thus, several genes are characteristic of D. dendriticus plerocercoids, including fatty acid-binding protein and ferritin. Among the most highly expressed DEGs of the adult stage of D. dendriticus is the Kunitz-type serine protease inhibitor, in two putative isoforms. The analyses of GO and KEGG metabolic pathways revealed that a large number of the DEGs of D. dendriticus are associated with the biosynthesis of various substances such as arginine and folate, as well as with various metabolic pathways such as galactose metabolism, selenocompound metabolism, and phosphonate and phosphinate metabolism. This will contribute to further research aimed at identifying targets for new generation drugs and the development of specific vaccines.

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and Gut Microbiota: Phenotype Matters.

Abnormalities in gut microbiota diversity are considered important mechanisms in metabolic disorders in polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). However, the data on the association of these disorders with the PCOS phenotype remain controversial. The objectives of this study were to estimate the alpha diversity of the gut microbiota of healthy women and PCOS patients depending on phenotype. The study participants (184 premenopausal women: 63 with PCOS, 121 without PCOS) were recruited during the annual employment assessment in the Irkutsk Region and the Buryat Republic (Russia) in 2016-2019. For PCOS diagnosis, we used the Rotterdam (2003) criteria and definitions of PCOS phenotypes. Five indexes of alpha diversity (ASV, Shannon, Simpson, Chao, and ACE) were estimated for the gut microbiota in all participants using amplicon metasequencing. As a result, two out of five alpha diversity indexes showed a statistical difference between the non-PCOS and PCOS groups. We did not find a significant difference in the alpha diversity of gut microbiota in the subgroups of women with hyperandrogenic PCOS phenotypes vs non-androgenic phenotype D and the group of women with the presence of only one of the PCOS criteria. Nevertheless, "classic" PCOS phenotypes demonstrated the most significant decrease in alpha diversity compared with healthy women without any signs of PCOS.

Complete mitochondrial genomes of Baikal endemic coregonids: omul and lacustrine whitefish (Salmonidae: Coregonus sp.).

Coregonid fishes are among the most successful groups in the subarctic, boreal, and subalpine fresh waters of the northern hemisphere. Limnetic-benthic sympatric species-pairs from two different evolutionary lineages, the North American lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis species complex), and the European whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus species complex), are becoming the subject of close attention to explore the role of natural selection during the ecological speciation. Baikal endemic coregonids, limnetic omul (Coregonus migratorius), and benthic lacustrine whitefish (Coregonus baicalensis) are the only representatives of another unique lineage that has not left the lake since the divergence from the two above. Due to Pleistocene oscillations sympatric limnetic-benthic divergence has been replicated here many times within the same water body over a long geological period in contrast to both Europe and America where sympatric species-pairs are the results of post-glacial secondary-contacts between glacial isolates during the Late Pleistocene on the territory of each continent. Mitochondrial genomes encode genes that are essential for respiration and metabolism. Data on complete mitogenomes of Baikal endemic coregonids provided here will complement ongoing investigations on energy metabolism as the main biological function involved in the divergence between limnetic and benthic whitefish.