The Exosome-like Vesicles of Giardia Assemblages A, B, and E Are Involved in the Delivering of Distinct Small RNA from Parasite to Parasite

ROPOLO, ANDREA

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES

MOLECULAR DIVERSITY PRESERVATION INTERNATIONAL-MDPI

Lugar: Basel; Año: 2023 vol. 24 p. 9559 - 9559

1422-0067

he genetically related assemblages of the intestinal protozoa parasite Giardia lamblia are morphologically indistinguishable and are often derived from specific hosts. The Giardia assemblages are separated by large genetic distances, which might account for their relevant biological and pathogenic differences. In this work, we analyzed the RNAs cargo released into exosomal-like vesicles (ElVs) by the assemblages A and B, which differentially infect humans, and the assemblage E, which infects hoofed animals. The RNA sequencing analysis revealed that the ElVs of each assemblage contained distinct small RNA (sRNA) biotypes, suggesting a preference for specific packaging in each assemblage. These sRNAs were classified into three categories, ribosomal-small RNAs(rsRNAs), messenger-small RNAs (msRNAs), and transfer-small RNAs (tsRNAs), which may play a regulatory role in parasite communication and contribute to host-specificity and pathogenesis. Uptake experiments showed, for the first time