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The RIO protein kinase-encoding gene Sj-riok-2 is involved in key reproductive processes in Schistosoma japonicum

Overview of attention for article published in Parasites & Vectors, December 2017
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Title
The RIO protein kinase-encoding gene Sj-riok-2 is involved in key reproductive processes in Schistosoma japonicum
Published in
Parasites & Vectors, December 2017
DOI 10.1186/s13071-017-2524-7
Pubmed ID
Authors

Lu Zhao, Xin He, Christoph G. Grevelding, Qing Ye, Ying Li, Robin B. Gasser, Colette Dissous, Mudassar N. Mughal, Yan-Qin Zhou, Jun-Long Zhao, Min Hu

Abstract

Schistosomiasis is one of the most prevalent parasitic diseases worldwide and is caused by parasitic trematodes of the genus Schistosoma. The pathogenesis of schistosomiasis is caused by eggs whose production is the consequence of the pairing of schistosomes and the subsequent sexual maturation of the female. Previous studies have demonstrated that protein kinases are involved in processes leading to the male-induced differentiation of the female gonads, ovary and vitellarium. Right open reading frame protein kinase 2 (RIOK-2) is a member of the atypical kinase family and shown in other organisms to be responsible for ribosomal RNA biogenesis and cell-cycle progression, as well as involves in nematode development. However, nothing is known about its functions in any trematode including schistosome. We isolated and characterized the riok-2 gene from S. japonicum, and detected the transcriptional profiles of Sj-riok-2 by using real-time PCR and in situ hybridization. RNAi-mediated knockdown of Sj-riok-2 was performed, mitotic activities were detected by EdU incorporation assay and morphological changes on organs were observed by confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM). In silico analyses of the amino acid sequence of Sj-RIOK-2 revealed typical features of this class of kinases including a winged helix (wHTH) domain and a RIO kinase domain. Sj-riok-2 is transcribed in different developmental stages of S. japonicum, with a higher abundance in adult females and eggs. Localization studies showed that Sj-riok-2 was mainly transcribed in female reproductive organs. Experiments with adult schistosomes in vitro demonstrated that the transcriptional level of Sj-riok-2 was affected by pairing. Knocking down Sj-riok-2 by RNAi reduced cell proliferation in the vitellarium and caused the increased amount of mature oocytes in ovary and an accumulation of eggs within the uterus. Sj-riok-2 is involved in the reproductive development and maturation of female S. japonicum. Our findings provide first evidence for a pairing-dependent role of Sj-riok-2 in the reproductive development and maturation of female S. japonicum. Thus this study contributes to the understanding of molecular processes controlling reproduction in schistosomes.

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Mendeley readers

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The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 23 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
Unknown 23 100%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Professor 4 17%
Student > Ph. D. Student 4 17%
Student > Bachelor 3 13%
Other 2 9%
Professor > Associate Professor 2 9%
Other 3 13%
Unknown 5 22%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology 5 22%
Medicine and Dentistry 3 13%
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 3 13%
Veterinary Science and Veterinary Medicine 1 4%
Business, Management and Accounting 1 4%
Other 2 9%
Unknown 8 35%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 2. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 21 December 2017.
All research outputs
#14,552,599
of 23,305,591 outputs
Outputs from Parasites & Vectors
#2,874
of 5,548 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#239,118
of 440,730 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Parasites & Vectors
#102
of 178 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 23,305,591 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 35th percentile – i.e., 35% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 5,548 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a little more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 5.7. This one is in the 44th percentile – i.e., 44% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 440,730 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one is in the 43rd percentile – i.e., 43% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.
We're also able to compare this research output to 178 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one is in the 39th percentile – i.e., 39% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.