Poster abstracts
Poster number 144 submitted by Ashley Stevens
Alternative polyadenylation in apicomplexans
Ashley Stevens (Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky), Dr. Arthur Hunt (Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky), Dr. Daniel Howe (Veterinary Sciences, University of Kentucky)
Abstract:
This project studied the occurrence of alternative polyadenylation (APA) and poly(A) site choice during the growth of three apicomplexan parasites: Sarcocystis neurona, Toxoplasma gondii, and Neospora caninum . This study addresses the hypothesis that alternative polyadenylation contributes to regulated gene expression in S. neurona, T. gondii, and N. caninum.
RNA was isolated from extracellular parasites and parasites growing in cultured host cells. Poly(A) tags (1) were made and the tag libraries were sequenced on a MiSeq instrument. The data was analyzed using programs including CLC Genomics Workbench and Bedtools, as well as others designed specifically for APA analysis to define sites and assess alternative polyadenylation. The results indicate that S. neurona, T. gondii, and N. caninum possesses a distinctive polyadenylation signal that is reminiscent of that seen in higher plants. The results also show multiple instances of APA. The results from this study confirm our hypothesis that there are changes in poly(A) site choice in the developmental stages of S. neurona, T. gondii, and N. caninum.
Supported by NSF Award 1243849
References:
1. Ma L, Pati PK, Liu M, Li QQ, Hunt AG. High throughput characterizations of poly(A) site choice in plants. Methods. 2014;67(1):74-83.
Keywords: Polyadenylation, Apicomplexan