Profiling of gender-specific gene expression for Trichostrongylus vitrinus (Nematoda: Strongylida) by microarray analysis of expressed sequence tag libraries constructed by suppressive-subtractive hybridisation.

Gender-specific gene expression in Trichostrongylus vitrinus (order Strongylida) was investigated by constructing male- and female-specific gene archives using a suppressive-subtractive hybridisation approach, sequencing of expressed sequence tags from these archives, comparison with genes of Caenorhabditis elegans and other organisms, and expression profiling of a representative subset of 716 expressed sequence tags by microarray and macroarray analysis. Of these T. vitrinus expressed sequence tags, 391 had sequence homology to C. elegans genes. Of the remaining expressed sequence tags, 62 had homology to genes of other species of parasitic nematodes, and 263 expressed sequence tags had no significant homology. Expression profiling showed gender-specific expression for 561 of the 716 T. vitrinus expressed sequence tags. Male-specific protein kinases and protein phosphatases, major sperm proteins and enzymes involved in carbohydrate metabolism were abundant in the cDNA archive. Female-specific vitellogenins, heat-shock proteins and chaperonins were also highly represented. Genes involved in a number of cellular processes, such as ubiquitination and proteasome function, gene transcription, cell signalling, protein-protein interactions and chromatin assembly and function were also expressed in a gender-specific manner. The potential roles of these genes in gametogenesis, embryogenesis and reproduction in the parasitic nematode are discussed in relation to the known roles of their homologues in C. elegans.