Major SCP/TAPS protein expansion in Lucilia cuprina is associated with novel tandem array organisation and domain archit
- PDF / 2,238,936 Bytes
- 11 Pages / 595.276 x 790.866 pts Page_size
- 70 Downloads / 135 Views
Parasites & Vectors Open Access
RESEARCH
Major SCP/TAPS protein expansion in Lucilia cuprina is associated with novel tandem array organisation and domain architecture Yair D. J. Prawer1* , Andreas J. Stroehlein2, Neil D. Young2, Shilpa Kapoor1, Ross S. Hall2, Razi Ghazali1, Phillip Batterham1, Robin B. Gasser2, Trent Perry1 and Clare A. Anstead2*
Abstract Background: Larvae of the Australian sheep blowfly, Lucilia cuprina, parasitise sheep by feeding on skin excretions, dermal tissue and blood, causing severe damage known as flystrike or myiasis. Recent advances in -omic technologies and bioinformatic data analyses have led to a greater understanding of blowfly biology and should allow the identification of protein families involved in host-parasite interactions and disease. Current literature suggests that proteins of the SCP (Sperm-Coating Protein)/TAPS (Tpx-1/Ag5/PR-1/Sc7) (SCP/TAPS) superfamily play key roles in immune modulation, cross-talk between parasite and host as well as developmental and reproductive processes in parasites. Methods: Here, we employed a bioinformatics workflow to curate the SCP/TAPS protein gene family in L. cuprina. Protein sequence, the presence and number of conserved CAP-domains and phylogeny were used to group identified SCP/TAPS proteins; these were compared to those found in Drosophila melanogaster to make functional predictions. In addition, transcription levels of SCP/TAPS protein-encoding genes were explored in different developmental stages. Results: A total of 27 genes were identified as belonging to the SCP/TAPS gene family: encoding 26 single-domain proteins each with a single CAP domain and a solitary double-domain protein containing two conserved cysteinerich secretory protein/antigen 5/pathogenesis related-1 (CAP) domains. Surprisingly, 16 SCP/TAPS predicted proteins formed an extended tandem array spanning a 53 kb region of one genomic region, which was confirmed by MinION long-read sequencing. RNA-seq data indicated that these 16 genes are highly transcribed in all developmental stages (excluding the embryo). Conclusions: Future work should assess the potential of selected SCP/TAPS proteins as novel targets for the control of L. cuprina and related parasitic flies of major socioeconomic importance. Keywords: Lucilia cuprina, SCP/TAPS protein, CAP superfamily, Host-parasite interactions, Fly biology
*Correspondence: [email protected]; [email protected] 1 Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia 2 Department of Veterinary Biosciences, Melbourne Veterinary School, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia © The Author(s) 2020. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes
Data Loading...
