Comparative Transcriptomics of <i>Chilodonella hexasticha</i> and <i>C. uncinata</i> Provide New Insights into Adaptations to a Parasitic Lifestyle and Mdivi-1 as a Potential Agent for Chilodonellosis Control
<i>Chilodonella hexasticha</i> is a harmful parasitic ciliate that can cause severe damage to fish and high mortalities worldwide. Its congeneric species, <i>C. uncinata</i>, is a facultative parasite that not only can be free-living but also can parasitize on fish gills and...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-08-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/17/13058 |
| Summary: | <i>Chilodonella hexasticha</i> is a harmful parasitic ciliate that can cause severe damage to fish and high mortalities worldwide. Its congeneric species, <i>C. uncinata</i>, is a facultative parasite that not only can be free-living but also can parasitize on fish gills and fins. In this study, single-cell transcriptomes of these two species were assembled and characterized. Numerous enzymes related to energy metabolism and parasitic adaption were identified through annotation in the Non-Redundant (NR), Clusters of Orthologous Genes (COG), Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) databases. The expression of isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH), cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (Cox1) and ATP synthase F1, delta subunit (ATP5D) was up-regulated in <i>C. hexasticha</i> compared with <i>C. uncinata</i>. The oxidative phosphorylation process was also enriched in <i>C. hexasticha</i>. The main mitochondrial metabolic pathways in <i>C. hexasticha</i> were depicted and enzymes related to energy metabolism pathways were compared between these two species. More importantly, mitochondrial division inhibitor 1 (mdivi-1) proved to be very effective in killing both <i>C. hexasticha</i> and <i>C. uncinata</i>, which could be a novel drug for Chilodonellosis control. This study can help us better understand the energy metabolisms of <i>C. hexasticha</i> and <i>C. uncinata</i> and provide new insight into novel targets for chilodonellosis control. Meanwhile, the transcriptome data can also facilitate genomic studies of these two species in the future. |
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| ISSN: | 1661-6596 1422-0067 |