Genome-wide reconstruction of the intrinsic apoptosis pathway in Haemonchus contortus

Abstract

Background: Programmed cell death (or apoptosis) is a fundamental process in metazoans, extensively characterised in mammals and other vertebrates but much less so in invertebrates beyond the free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans and the vinegar fly – Drosophila melanogaster. Here, we present the first reconstruction of the complete intrinsic apoptosis pathway in the parasitic nematode Haemonchus contortus, a blood-feeding pathogen of ruminants and a major cause of global production losses. Results: Using C. elegans proteins as references, we combined genome-wide homology searches, structural modelling, and developmental transcriptomic and proteomic analysis to identify and characteris..