Abstract

Entamoeba histolytica, a protozoan parasite, is an important human pathogen and a leading parasitic cause of death. The organism has two life cycle stages, trophozoites, which are responsible for tissue invasion, and cysts, which are involved in pathogen transmission.Entamoeba invadensis the model system to studyEntamoebadevelopmental biology, as high-grade regulated encystation and excystation are readily achievable. However, the lack of gene-silencing tools inE. invadenshas limited the molecular studies that can be performed. Using the endogenous RNA interference (RNAi) pathway inEntamoeba, we developed an RNAi-based trigger gene-silencing approach inE. invadens We demonstrate that a gene's coding region that has abundant antisense small RNAs (sRNAs) can trigger silencing of a gene that is fused to it. The trigger fusion leads to the generation of abundant antisense sRNAs that map to the target gene, with silencing occurring independently of trigger location at the 5' or 3' end of a gene. Gene silencing is stably maintained during development, including encystation and excystation. We have used this approach to successfully silence twoE. invadensgenes: a putative rhomboid protease gene and a SHAQKY family Myb gene. The Myb gene is upregulated during oxidative stress and development, and its downregulation led, as predicted, to decreased viability under oxidative stress and decreased cyst formation. Thus, the RNAi trigger silencing method can be used to successfully investigate the molecular functions of genes inE. invadens Dissection of the molecular basis ofEntamoebastage conversion is now possible, representing an important technical advance for the system.

View details for DOI 10.1128/IAI.01161-15

View details for PubMedID 26787723

View details for PubMedCentralID PMC4807475