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The article focuses on aspects of the snail or schistosome relationship elucidating common pathways to enable both snails and humans to accommodate parasitism by schistosomes in view of physiological and immunological environments. It notes that the excretory or secretory products (ESPs) of the miracidium include the stress-inducing factor. Gene repositioning in B. glabrata by schistosomes exemplifies how a eukaryotic pathogen influences hijack of the genome behavior of its host.

Background: Blood flukes of the genus Schistosoma cause schistosomiasis—a neglected tropical disease (NTD) that affects more than 200 million people worldwide. Studies of schistosome genomes have improved our understanding of the molecular biology of flatworms, but most of them have focused largely on protein-coding genes. Small non-coding RNAs (sncRNAs) have been explored in selected schistosome species and are suggested to play essential roles in the post-transcriptional regulation of genes, and in modulating flatworm-host interactions. However, genome-wide small RNA data are currently lacking for key schistosomes including Schistosoma haematobium—the causative agent of urogenital schistosomiasis of humans. Methodology: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) and other sncRNAs of male and female adults of S. haematobium and small RNA transcription levels were explored by deep sequencing, genome mapping and detailed bioinformatic analyses. Principal findings: In total, 89 transcribed miRNAs were identified in S. haematobium—a similar complement to those reported for the congeners S. mansoni and S. japonicum. Of these miRNAs, 34 were novel, with no homologs in other schistosomes. Most miRNAs (n = 64) exhibited sex-biased transcription, suggestive of roles in sexual differentiation, pairing of adult worms and reproductive processes. Of the sncRNAs that were not miRNAs, some related to the spliceosome (n = 21), biogenesis of other RNAs (n = 3) or ribozyme functions (n = 16), whereas most others (n = 3798) were novel (‘orphans’) with unknown functions. Conclusions: This study provides the first genome-wide sncRNA resource for S. haematobium, extending earlier studies of schistosomes. The present work should facilitate the future curation and experimental validation of sncRNA functions in schistosomes to enhance our understanding of post-transcriptional gene regulation and of the roles that sncRNAs play in schistosome reproduction, development and parasite-host cross-talk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is increasing interest in the microbiome of the hepatobiliary system. This study investigated the influence of infection with the fish-borne liver fluke, Opisthorchis felineus on the biliary microbiome of residents of the Tomsk region of western Siberia. Methodology/Principal Findings: Samples of bile were provided by 56 study participants, half of who were infected with O. felineus, and all of who were diagnosed with gallstone disease. The microbiota of the bile was investigated using high throughput, Illumina-based sequencing targeting the prokaryotic 16S rRNA gene. About 2,797, discrete phylotypes of prokaryotes were detected. At the level of phylum, bile from participants with opisthorchiasis showed greater numbers of Synergistetes, Spirochaetes, Planctomycetes, TM7 and Verrucomicrobia. Numbers of > 20 phylotypes differed in bile of the O. felineus-infected compared to non-infected participants, including presence of species of the genera Mycoplana, Cellulosimicrobium, Microlunatus and Phycicoccus, and the Archaeans genus, Halogeometricum, and increased numbers of Selenomonas, Bacteroides, Rothia, Leptotrichia, Lactobacillus, Treponema and Klebsiella. Conclusions/Significance: Overall, infection with the liver fluke O. felineus modified the biliary microbiome, increasing abundance of bacterial and archaeal phylotypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]