Comparative and systems analyses of Leishmania spp. non-coding RNAs through developmental stages.

Leishmania spp. is the etiological agent of leishmaniases, neglected diseases that seek to be eradicated in the coming years. The life cycle of these parasites involves different host and stress environments. In recent years, many studies have shown that several protein-coding genes are directly inv...

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Main Authors: J Eduardo Martinez-Hernandez, Victor Aliaga-Tobar, Carolina González-Rosales, Rubens Monte-Neto, Alberto J M Martin, Vinicius Maracaja-Coutinho
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2025-05-01
Series:PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0013108
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author J Eduardo Martinez-Hernandez
Victor Aliaga-Tobar
Carolina González-Rosales
Rubens Monte-Neto
Alberto J M Martin
Vinicius Maracaja-Coutinho
author_facet J Eduardo Martinez-Hernandez
Victor Aliaga-Tobar
Carolina González-Rosales
Rubens Monte-Neto
Alberto J M Martin
Vinicius Maracaja-Coutinho
author_sort J Eduardo Martinez-Hernandez
collection DOAJ
description Leishmania spp. is the etiological agent of leishmaniases, neglected diseases that seek to be eradicated in the coming years. The life cycle of these parasites involves different host and stress environments. In recent years, many studies have shown that several protein-coding genes are directly involved with the development and host interactions. However, little is still known about the role of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) in life cycle progression. In this study, we aimed to identify the genomic structure and function of ncRNAs from Leishmania spp. and to get insights into the repertoire of ncRNAs (RNAome) of this protozoan genus. We studied 26 strains corresponding to 16 different species of Leishmania. Our RNAome analysis revealed the presence of several ncRNAs that are shared among different species, allowing us to differentiate between subgenera as well as between species that are canonically related to visceral leishmaniasis. We also studied co-expression relationships between coding genes and ncRNAs which in the amastigote developmental stage for Leishmania braziliensis and Leishmania donovani revealed the presence of miRNA-like transcripts co-expressed with several coding genes involved in starvation, survival and histone modification. This work represents the first effort to characterize the Leishmania ssp. RNAome, supporting further approaches to better understand the role of ncRNAs in gene regulation, infective process, and host-parasite interaction.
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spelling doaj-art-11ea73d8bc494a55bd4248f209e6b8962025-08-20T02:09:51ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases1935-27271935-27352025-05-01195e001310810.1371/journal.pntd.0013108Comparative and systems analyses of Leishmania spp. non-coding RNAs through developmental stages.J Eduardo Martinez-HernandezVictor Aliaga-TobarCarolina González-RosalesRubens Monte-NetoAlberto J M MartinVinicius Maracaja-CoutinhoLeishmania spp. is the etiological agent of leishmaniases, neglected diseases that seek to be eradicated in the coming years. The life cycle of these parasites involves different host and stress environments. In recent years, many studies have shown that several protein-coding genes are directly involved with the development and host interactions. However, little is still known about the role of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) in life cycle progression. In this study, we aimed to identify the genomic structure and function of ncRNAs from Leishmania spp. and to get insights into the repertoire of ncRNAs (RNAome) of this protozoan genus. We studied 26 strains corresponding to 16 different species of Leishmania. Our RNAome analysis revealed the presence of several ncRNAs that are shared among different species, allowing us to differentiate between subgenera as well as between species that are canonically related to visceral leishmaniasis. We also studied co-expression relationships between coding genes and ncRNAs which in the amastigote developmental stage for Leishmania braziliensis and Leishmania donovani revealed the presence of miRNA-like transcripts co-expressed with several coding genes involved in starvation, survival and histone modification. This work represents the first effort to characterize the Leishmania ssp. RNAome, supporting further approaches to better understand the role of ncRNAs in gene regulation, infective process, and host-parasite interaction.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0013108
spellingShingle J Eduardo Martinez-Hernandez
Victor Aliaga-Tobar
Carolina González-Rosales
Rubens Monte-Neto
Alberto J M Martin
Vinicius Maracaja-Coutinho
Comparative and systems analyses of Leishmania spp. non-coding RNAs through developmental stages.
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
title Comparative and systems analyses of Leishmania spp. non-coding RNAs through developmental stages.
title_full Comparative and systems analyses of Leishmania spp. non-coding RNAs through developmental stages.
title_fullStr Comparative and systems analyses of Leishmania spp. non-coding RNAs through developmental stages.
title_full_unstemmed Comparative and systems analyses of Leishmania spp. non-coding RNAs through developmental stages.
title_short Comparative and systems analyses of Leishmania spp. non-coding RNAs through developmental stages.
title_sort comparative and systems analyses of leishmania spp non coding rnas through developmental stages
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0013108
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