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RNA interference in parasitic helminths: current situation, potential pitfalls and future prospects

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 January 2007

P. GELDHOF ,
A. VISSER ,
D. CLARK ,
G. SAUNDERS ,
C. BRITTON ,
J. GILLEARD ,
M. BERRIMAN  and
D. KNOX
P. GELDHOF*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Virology, Parasitology and Immunology, Salisburylaan 133, B-9820 Merelbeke
A. VISSER
Affiliation:
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Virology, Parasitology and Immunology, Salisburylaan 133, B-9820 Merelbeke
D. CLARK
Affiliation:
Moredun Research Institute, Pentlands Science Park, Bush Loan, Penicuik, EH26 0PZ, UK
G. SAUNDERS
Affiliation:
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Infection and Immunity, Bearsden Road, Glasgow, UK
C. BRITTON
Affiliation:
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Infection and Immunity, Bearsden Road, Glasgow, UK
J. GILLEARD
Affiliation:
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Infection and Immunity, Bearsden Road, Glasgow, UK
M. BERRIMAN
Affiliation:
Pathogen Sequencing Unit, Wellcome Trust Sanger InstituteWellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, UK
D. KNOX
Affiliation:
Moredun Research Institute, Pentlands Science Park, Bush Loan, Penicuik, EH26 0PZ, UK
*
*Corresponding author: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Virology, Parasitology and Immunology, Salisburylaan 133, B-9820 Merelbeke, Belgium. E-mail: Peter.geldhof@Ugent.be
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Summary

RNA interference (RNAi) has become an invaluable tool for the functional analysis of genes in a wide variety of organisms including the free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Recently, attempts have been made to apply this technology to parasitic helminths of animals and plants with variable success. Gene knockdown has been reported for Schistosoma mansoni by soaking or electroporating different life-stages in dsRNA. Similar approaches have been tested on parasitic nematodes which clearly showed that, under certain conditions, it was possible to interfere with gene expression. However, despite these successes, the current utility of this technology in parasite research is questionable. First, problems have arisen with the specificity of RNAi. Treatment of the parasites with dsRNA resulted, in many cases, in non-specific effects. Second, the current RNAi methods have a limited efficiency and effects are sometimes difficult to reproduce. This was especially the case in strongylid parasites where only a small number of genes were susceptible to RNAi-mediated gene knockdown. The future application of RNAi in parasite functional genomics will greatly depend on how we can overcome these difficulties. Optimization of the dsRNA delivery methods and in vitro culture conditions will be the major challenges.

Keywords

RNA interferenceRNAihelminthnematodetrematodegene knockdownreproducibility
Type
Review Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 134 , Issue 5 , May 2006 , pp. 609 - 619
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2006

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