Use of differential display to detect changes in gene expression in the intermediate snail host Biomphalaria glabrata upon infection with Schistosoma mansoni

Changes in gene expression in Biomphalaria glabrata following infection with Schistosoma mansoni have been investigated using a modified differential display approach. RNA was extracted from ovotestis, mantle tissue and anterior nephridium of control and exposed snails at 2 time-points (4 h and 24 h) post-exposure and analysed by RNA fingerprinting. A number of transcripts were identified; some novel and some homologous to mRNAs in GenEMBL that were previously unknown in B. glabrata . Down regulation of one 241 bp mRNA expressed sequence fragment – with an open reading frame showing 48% identity to a cytochrome p450 over 80 residues – has been confirmed using semi-quantitative RT-PCR. Preliminary classification of B. glabrata cyp450 sequence shows it to fall into CLAN 2 of the cytochrome p450 superfamily. Differential display has been successful in identifying changes in gene expression in Biomphalaria glabrata upon infection with Schistosoma mansoni and promises to be a useful technique for the investigation of the interaction between host and parasite.