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Background Eimeria parasite infection occurs via ingestion of oocysts. The robust, bilayer oocyst wall is formed from the contents of wall-forming bodies (WFBs), WFB1 and WFB2, located exclusively in macrogametocytes. Eimeria necatrix gametocyte proteins 22 and 59 (EnGAM22 and EnGAM59) have been found to localize to WFBs and the oocyst wall. However, the exact localization of these two proteins is not clear. Methods WFBs of E. necatrix were extracted from purified gametocytes using a cutoff filter and the extracts of purified WFBs and gametocytes were analyzed using sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and immunoblotting. Then, the localization of EnGAM22 and EnGAM59 proteins was determined using an indirect immunofluorescence assay. Finally, the development of macrogametocytes and the oocyst wall of E. necatrix was analyzed using laser confocal microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Results Purified WFBs had the same shape and size as those observed in macrogametocytes. EnGAM22 protein localized to WFB1, whereas EnGAM59 protein localized to WFB2. Both EnGAM22 and EnGAM59 native proteins were detected in the extracts of WFBs and gametocytes. The outer layer of the oocyst wall was formed by the release of the contents of WFB1 at the surface of the macrogametocyte to form an anti-EnGAM22 positive layer. WFB2 then appeared to give rise to the inner layer, which was anti-EnGAM59 positive. Conclusions EnGAM22 and EnGAM59 proteins localized to WFB1 and WFB2 and were involved in the formation of the outer and inner layers of the oocyst wall of E. necatrix, respectively. The processes of macrogametogenesis and oocyst wall formation of E. necatrix are similar to other Eimeria parasites. The anti-EnGAM22 antibody could be used as a tool to track the transport and secretion of proteins in WFB1 during oocyst development. Graphical Abstract

The issue of inheriting and developing traditional handicrafts in this contemporary society is being explored by all walks of life in China. Taking the olive-stone carving in Guangzhou as a case, field investigations and analyses of its current situation of inheritance have been conducted. It has been found that although the government in Guangzhou has been paying more attention to olive-stone carving, there are still many problems, including the shortage of raw materials, no inheritors, low market recognition, and inadequate promotion. Therefore, the local government has cooperated with schools and craftsmen to search for key solutions in regard to raw material protection, training of inheritors, product development, and product promotion.

In order to discuss the innovation of intangible cultural heritage arts and crafts design, it is essential to first understand the current situation of intangible heritage arts and crafts, and then proceed from two directions, which include visual form and functional value. The role and influence of digitization and industrialization on the modern transformation of intangible cultural heritage arts and crafts design need to be clarified. In terms of ideas for innovative designs, interactive scene design and cultural brand building can be emphasized. These research results provide ideas and methods for realizing the creative transformation and innovative inheritance of intangible cultural heritage arts and crafts.

Macrogametocyte stage antigens reportedly provide protective immunity against coccidiosis in poultry. This study was designed to evaluate the ability of a purified recombinant protein from Eimeria necatrix gametocytes (rEnGAM22) to stimulate immunity against experimental infection with sporulated E. necatrix oocysts. The immunogenicity of the recombinant protein was studied in chickens by subcutaneous injection of 25, 50, or 75 µg of the protein with Freund’s adjuvant. Vaccine efficacy was assessed after oral parasite challenge by fecal oocyst output, lesion scores, body weight gain, serum antibodies, and cytokine responses. Chickens vaccinated with 50 µg of rEnGAM22 and challenged with sporulated E. necatrix oocysts showed reduced fecal oocyst shedding and lesion scores compared with other immunized groups and the infected control group, with the exception of the live oocyst group. There was no difference in body weight between the immunized groups and the infected control group. Furthermore, rEnGAM22 also stimulated higher production of anti-rEnGAM22 serum antibodies 7 days after secondary immunization, especially with 50 µg of rEnGAM22. Serum levels of interleukin (IL)-2, IL-4, IL10, and interferon (IFN)-γ also showed the greatest immune response from 50 µg of rEnGAM22, and IL-2 and IL-4 responses were greater than those of IL-10 and IFN-γ. These results indicated that rEnGAM22 protected against E. necatrix infection to some degree and may potentially be used to develop a recombinant subunit vaccine against coccidiosis.

Traditional Chinese cultures are formed along the line of social development and reflect the developing situations of this aspect. The artistic concepts and charms of the intangible cultural heritages of arts and crafts in China strongly signify the history and cultures accumulated throughout 5000 years. The fashion design industry is currently confronted with a bottleneck due to the continuous development of social economy; hence, its development has been restricted to a certain extent. In regard to that, the related sectors in Shanxi emphasized on the integration and innovation of intangible cultural heritages of arts and crafts with modern fashion designs to lay the foundation for creation of modern arts. Therefore, this paper expounds the relationship between the intangible cultural heritages of arts and crafts and modern fashion design in addition to the significance and strategies for their integration.

Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is an obligate intracellular parasitic protozoan that can cause toxoplasmosis in humans and other endotherms. T. gondii can manipulate the host gene expression profile by interfering with miRNA expression, which is closely associated with the molecular mechanisms of T. gondii-induced brain injury. However, it is unclear how T. gondii manipulates the gene expression of central nervous system (CNS) cells through modulation of miRNA expression in vivo during acute and chronic infection. Therefore, high-throughput sequencing was used to investigate expression profiles of brain miRNAs at 10, 25, and 50 days post-infection (DPI) in pigs infected with the Chinese I genotype T. gondii strain in this study. Compared with the control group 87, 68, and 135 differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) were identified in the infected porcine brains at 10, 25, and 50 DPI, respectively. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis showed that a large number significantly enriched GO terms and KEGG pathways were found, and were mostly associated with stimulus or immune response, signal transduction, cell death or apoptosis, metabolic processes, immune system or diseases, and cancers. miRNA–gene network analysis revealed that the crucial connecting nodes, including DEMs and their target genes, might have key roles in the interactions between porcine brain and T. gondii. These results suggest that the regulatory strategies of T. gondii are involved in the modulation of a variety of host cell signaling pathways and cellular processes, containing unfolded protein response (UPR), oxidative stress (OS), autophagy, apoptosis, tumorigenesis, and inflammatory responses, by interfering with the global miRNA expression profile of CNS cells, allowing parasites to persist in the host CNS cells and contribute to pathological damage of porcine brain. To our knowledge, this is the first report on miRNA expression profile in porcine brains during acute and chronic T. gondii infection in vivo. Our results provide new insights into the mechanisms underlying T. gondii-induced brain injury during different infection stages and novel targets for developing therapeutic agents against T. gondii.

Background Eimeria coccidiosis is a significant intestinal parasitic disease, which can lead to weight loss, disease and even death of many animals. At present, there is no information about the prevalence of Eimeria among the world’s endangered species of Père David’s deer (Elaphurus davidianus). Therefore, the purpose of this study is to identify an unknown Eimeria genus in the Père David’s deer in Dafeng Milu National Nature Reserve, China. Results A new Eimeria species is described from Père David’s deer. Sporulated oocysts (n = 54) are pyriform, with a rough, yellowish brown, 2-layered oocyst wall (2.5 μm thick). A numerous small granules are dispersed randomly on the wall. Oocysts measured 41.2 (39.2–42.8) μm × 29.5 (27.9–30.5) μm, oocyst length/width (L/W) ratio, 1.4. Oocyst residuum, a polar granule and a polar cap are absent. The micropyle (3.5 μm wide) is present. Sporocysts are spindle shaped, 18.2 (16.5–20.0) μm × 10.5 (9.8–11.9) μm, sporocyst L/W ratio, 1.7 (1.5–1.9). A thin convex Stieda body is present and the sporocyst residuum is composed of numerous small granules less than 2.0 μm in diameter dispersed randomly. Each sporocyst contained 2 comma-shaped sporozoites in head-to-tail arrangement. A nucleus is located immediately anterior to the posterior, strong refractive and subspherical refractile body (~ 8 μm). Molecular analysis was conducted at the 18S, ITS-1 and COI loci. Conclusion Based on the morphological and molecular data, this isolate is a new species of coccidian parasite, which is named Eimeria davidianusi after its host, the Père David’s deer (Elaphurus davidianus).

Background: Toxoplasma gondii is an obligatory intracellular protozoan parasite that can cause a geographically widespread zoonosis. Our previous splenocyte microRNA profiles analyses of pig infected with T. gondii revealed that the coordination of a large number of miRNAs regulates the host immune response during infection. However, the functions of more miRNAs involved to the immune regulation during T. gondii infection are not yet known.Methods: Clustering analysis was performed by K-means, self-organizing map (SOM) and Hierarchical clustering, respectively, to obtain miRNA groups with the similar expression patterns. Then, the target genes of miRNA group in each subcluster were further analyzed for function enrichment by Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and Reactome pathway to recognize the key signaling molecules and the regulatory signatures of the innate and adaptive immune responses of the host during T. gondii infection.Results: A total of 252 miRNAs were successfully divided into 22 subclusters by K-means clustering (named by K1~K22), 29 subclusters by SOM clustering (named by SOM1~SOM29) and 6 subclusters by Hierarchical clustering (named by H1~H6) based on their dynamic expression levels in the different infection stages. A total of 634, 660 and 477 GO terms, 15, 26 and 14 KEGG pathways, and 16, 15 and 7 Reactome pathways were significantly enriched by K-means, SOM and Hierarchical clustering, respectively. Of note, up to 22 miRNAs mainly showing the downregulated expression at 50 DPI were identified into one subcluster (namely subcluster H3-K17-SOM1) through the three algorithms. Functional analysis revealed that a large group of immunomodulatory signaling molecules were controlled by the different miRNA groups to regulate multiple immune processes, for instance, IL-1-mediated cellular response and Th1/Th2 cell differentiation partly depending on Notch signaling transduction for subclusters K1 and K2, innate immune response involving to Neutrophil degranulation and TLR4 cascade signaling for subcluster K15, B cell activation for subclusters SOM17, SOM1 and SOM25, leukocyte migration and chemokine activity for subcluster SOM9, Cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction for subcluster H2, and interleukin production, chemotaxis of immune cells, Chemokine signaling pathway and C-type lectin receptor signaling pathway for subcluster H3-K17-SOM1.Conclusions: Clustering analysis of splenocyte microRNAs in pig reflected the key regulatory properties of subcluster miRNA molecules, as well as the important features in the immune regulation induced by acute and chronic infections of T. gondii. These results contribute to new insight into the identification of physiologic immune responses and maintenance of tolerance in pig spleen tissues during T. gondii infection.

BackgroundToxoplasma gondiiis an obligate intracellular protozoan parasite that can cause a geographically widespread zoonosis. Our previous splenocyte microRNA profile analyses of pig infected withT. gondiirevealed that the coordination of a large number of miRNAs regulates the host immune response during infection. However, the functions of other miRNAs involved in the immune regulation duringT. gondiiinfection are not yet known.MethodsClustering analysis was performed byK-means, self-organizing map (SOM), and hierarchical clustering to obtain miRNA groups with the similar expression patterns. Then, the target genes of the miRNA group in each subcluster were further analyzed for functional enrichment by Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), and Reactome pathway to recognize the key signaling molecules and the regulatory signatures of the innate and adaptive immune responses of the host duringT. gondiiinfection.ResultsA total of 252 miRNAs were successfully divided into 22 subclusters byK-means clustering (designated as K1–K22), 29 subclusters by SOM clustering (designated as SOM1–SOM29), and six subclusters by hierarchical clustering (designated as H1–H6) based on their dynamic expression levels in the different infection stages. A total of 634, 660, and 477 GO terms, 15, 26, and 14 KEGG pathways, and 16, 15, and 7 Reactome pathways were significantly enriched byK-means, SOM, and hierarchical clustering, respectively. Of note, up to 22 miRNAs mainly showing downregulated expression at 50 days post-infection (dpi) were grouped into one subcluster (namely subcluster H3-K17-SOM1) through the three algorithms. Functional analysis revealed that a large group of immunomodulatory signaling molecules were controlled by the different miRNA groups to regulate multiple immune processes, for instance, IL-1-mediated cellular response and Th1/Th2 cell differentiation partly depending on Notch signaling transduction for subclusters K1 and K2, innate immune response involved in neutrophil degranulation and TLR4 cascade signaling for subcluster K15, B cell activation for subclusters SOM17, SOM1, and SOM25, leukocyte migration, and chemokine activity for subcluster SOM9, cytokine–cytokine receptor interaction for subcluster H2, and interleukin production, chemotaxis of immune cells, chemokine signaling pathway, and C-type lectin receptor signaling pathway for subcluster H3-K17-SOM1.ConclusionsCluster analysis of splenocyte microRNAs in the pig revealed key regulatory properties of subcluster miRNA molecules and important features in the immune regulation induced by acute and chronicT. gondiiinfection. These results contribute new insight into the identification of physiological immune responses and maintenance of tolerance in pig spleen tissues duringT. gondiiinfection.Graphical Abstract

Toxoplasma gondiiis an obligate intracellular parasite with worldwide distribution. Virulence ofT.gondiiis a multigenic trait. Genetic and virulence data forT.gondiiisolates from humans and animals in China have been reported. However, almost all biological materials used for genotyping ofT.gondiifrom humans and pigs were DNA samples prepared from tissues, andT. gondiistrains used for virulence analysis were isolated mainly from cats. In this study, one isolate from a dead human fetus was identified as type I (ToxoDB #10) while the two isolates from dead pigs were type Chinese I (ToxoDB #9) with PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism using 10 markers (SAG1,SAG2,SAG3,BTUB,GRA6,c22–8,c29–2,L358,PK1and Apico). Three isolates were comfirmed as virulent strains in mice. By cloning and sequences analysis, all isolates contained aPvuII restriction site (572–577 bp) in the KHB fragment and five tandem repeats in the 5′ UTR region ofSAG1, which were associated withT.gondiivirulence. The type Chinese I isolates contained two deletions of 15 and 3 bp at positions 635 to 649 and 658 to 660 in theGRA6, which were correlated with genotype, but not with virulence. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the systematic analysis of murine virulence of type Chinese I strain from pigs, and the associations of sequences of the KHB fragment andSAG1with virulence of type Chinese I strain. The Chinese I genotype was more closely related to type II strains.

Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasitic protozoan with a worldwide distribution. The parasites in edible tissues of pigs and oocysts from cats are the major sources of T. gondii infection in humans. However, there are no data from sick pigs in veterinary clinics or from stray cats in Jiangsu Province, eastern China. In total, biological samples from 141 sick pigs and 64 stray cats were collected from this region. The rate of T. gondii infection in sick pigs was 46.81% using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and the overall prevalence of toxoplasmosis in stray cats was 34.38% by PCR and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). T. gondii was significantly more prevalent in lungs and heart than in liver and spleen (P 0.05). Age and geographic region were considered to be the main risk factors associated with T. gondii infection in these pigs. The DNA samples from 17 sick pigs and seven stray cats, were successfully genotyped by multilocus PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) with 10 genetic markers [SAG1, SAG2 (5'-3'SAG2, alt. SAG2), SAG3, GRA6, PK1, c22-8, c29-2, BTUB, L358 and Apico]. Six distinct genotypes were found, which were designated ToxoDB PCR-RFLP genotypes #9 (Chinese I), #10 (Type I), #213, and #89, and New 1 and New 2. Chinese I is the most prevalent T. gondii genotype in this region. The two new genotypes (designated New 1 and New 2) are reported and the ToxoDB PCR-RFLP genotype #89 is found for the first time in China. Such information will be useful for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of porcine toxoplasmosis in Jiangsu Province, eastern China.

Gametocyte proteins of Eimeria spp. are essential components of the oocyst wall, and some of these proteins have been analysed to identify targets of transmission-blocking vaccines against avian coccidiosis. In the present study, a cDNA from E. necatrix gametocytes was cloned and sequenced. The cDNA is 1473 bp in length and encodes a 490-amino-acid protein containing a tyrosine-serine (Tyr/Ser)-rich domain and a proline-methionine (Pro/Met)-rich domain. A quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) analysis showed that the cDNA is expressed only during gametogenesis. A fragment containing the Tyr/Ser-rich domain (rEnGAM59) was expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) cells. Immunoblotting showed that rEnGAM59 was recognized by the serum of convalescent chickens after infection with E. necatrix, and that an anti-rEnGAM59 antibody recognized a ∼59 kDa protein and two other proteins (∼35 kDa and ∼33 kDa) in gametocyte extracts. An immunofluorescence assay showed that the anti-rEnGAM59 antibody recognized wall-forming bodies in the macrogametocytes and oocyst walls. An in vivo vaccination and challenge trial was conducted to test the potential utility of rEnGAM59 as a vaccine. Immunized chickens performed better than the unimmunized and challenged (positive control) chickens. The intestinal lesion scores were significantly lower in the immunized groups than in the positive control group (P0.05). In contrast, the body weight gains (BWG) were significantly higher in the immunized groups than in the positive control group (P0.05). There were no significant differences in the lesion scores and BWG between the groups immunized with rEnGAM59 protein or with live oocysts (P0.05). Chickens immunized with rEnGAM59 protein had a significantly higher antigen-specific serum IgY response (P0.05). rEnGAM59 protein can be used as candidate antigen to develop a recombinant coccidiosis vaccine.

Background Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite that infects humans and other warm-blooded animals. Previous quantitative proteomic analyses of infected host cells revealed that the expression of many host proteins is modulated by T. gondii infection. However, at present limited data are available on the differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) associated with the pathology and host immune responses induced by acute and chronic infection with T. gondii in pigs in vivo. In this study, high-throughput sequencing was used to investigate expression profiles of spleen miRNAs at 10, 25 and 50 days post-infection (DPI) in pigs infected with Chinese I genotype strain T. gondii isolated from a dead pig. Results When compared to the control group, 34, 6 and 86 DEMs were found in spleens of infected pigs at 10, 25 and 50 DPI, respectively. Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis of the target genes of DEMs showed that no GO terms were enriched at 25 DPI, whereas 28 and 241 GO terms, of which two and 215 were sample-specific, were significantly enriched at 10 and 50 DPI, respectively. The top 20 Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways of the target genes of DEMs included signal transduction, immune system, metabolism and diseases. miRNA–gene network analysis revealed that the DEMs played important roles in the host immune response to T. gondii infection by modulating expression levels of cellular immunity-related cytokines and immune-related C-type lectins. Conclusion Our results not only showed that host miRNA expression is altered by T. gondii but also revealed differences in the regulation of key biological processes and pathways involved in host responses to acute versus chronic T. gondii infection. This will aid future research into miRNA-target interactions during T. gondii infection in pigs and the development of novel therapies against T. gondii. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12864-019-5458-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

In our previous study, we obtained a large number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between second-generation merozoites (MZ-2) and third-generation merozoites (MZ-3) of Eimeria necatrix using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). Here, we report two subtractive cDNA libraries for MZ2 (forward library) and MZ3 (reverse library) that were constructed using suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH). PCR amplification revealed that the MZ2 and MZ3 libraries contained approximately 96.7% and 95% recombinant clones, respectively, and the length of the inserted fragments ranged from 0.5 to 1.5 kb. A total of 106 and 111 unique sequences were obtained from the MZ2 and MZ3 libraries, respectively, and were assembled into 13 specific consensus sequences (contigs or genes) (5 from MZ2 and 8 from MZ3). The qRT-PCR results revealed that 11 out of 13 genes were differentially expressed between MZ-2 and MZ-3. Of 13 genes, 11 genes were found in both SSH and our RNA-seq data and displayed a similar expression trend between SSH and RNA-seq data, and the remaining 2 genes have not been reported in both E. necatrix genome and our RNA-seq data. Among the 11 genes, the expression trends of 8 genes were highly consistent between SSH and our RNA-seq data. These DEGs may provide specialized functions related to the life-cycle transitions of Eimeria species.

Eimeria necatrix is one of the most pathogenic parasites causing high mortality in chicken older than 8 weeks. Eimeria spp. possess a coccidian lifecycle including both sexual and asexual stages. Sexual differentiation and development occupies a central place in the life cycle of the Eimeria parasite. However, our knowledge of the sexual differentiation and gametocyte development of Eimeria is very limited. Here using RNA sequencing, we conducted a comparative transcriptome analysis between third-generation merozoites (MZ-3) and gametocytes (GAM) of E. necatrix to identify genes with functions related to sexual differentiation and gametocyte development. Approximately 4267 genes were differentially expressed between MZ-3 and GAM. Compared with MZ-3, 2789 genes were upregulated and 1478 genes were downregulated in GAM. Approximately 329 genes in MZ-3 and 1289 genes in GAM were further analyzed in the evaluation of stage-specific genes. Gene Ontology (GO) classification and KEGG analysis revealed that 953 upregulated gametocyte genes were annotated with 170 GO assignments, and 405 upregulated genes were associated with 231 signaling pathways. We also predicted a further 83 upregulated gametocyte genes, of which 53 were involved in the biosynthesis of the oocyst wall, and 30 were involved in microgametocyte development. This information offers insights into the mechanisms governing the sexual development of E. necatrix and may potentially allow the identification of targets for blocking parasite transmission.