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Fasciola hepatica pp 67–92Cite as

Gene Silencing in the Liver Fluke Fasciola hepatica: RNA Interference

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Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 2137))

Abstract

The chronic infection with the liver fluke of the genus Fasciola spp. is the most prevalent foodborne trematodiasis, affecting at least one-fourth of the world livestock grazing in areas where the parasite is present. Moreover, fascioliasis is considered a major zoonosis mainly in rural areas of central South America, Northern Africa, and Central Asia. Increasing evidences of resistance against triclabendazole may compromise its use as drug of choice; thus, novel control strategies are desperately needed. Functional genomic approaches play a key role in the validation and characterization of new targets for drug and vaccine development. So far, RNA interference has been the only gene silencing approach successfully employed in liver flukes of the genus Fasciola spp. Herein, we describe a detailed step-by-step protocol to perform gene silencing mediated by RNAi in Fasciola hepatica.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire, UK

    Gabriel Rinaldi

  2. Departamento de Genética, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de la República, UdelaR, Montevideo, Uruguay

    Nicolás Dell’Oca & José F. Tort

  3. Sección Bioquímica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República, UdelaR, Montevideo, Uruguay

    Estela Castillo

Authors
  1. Gabriel Rinaldi
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  2. Nicolás Dell’Oca
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  3. Estela Castillo
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  4. José F. Tort
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Gabriel Rinaldi or José F. Tort .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratório de Biologia Molecular de Cestódeos, Centro de Biotecnologia Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

    Martin Cancela

  2. Unidad de Biología Parasitaria, Instituto de Higiene Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay

    Gabriela Maggioli

1 Electronic Supplementary Materials

Phenotype of NEJs treated by soaking for 4 h with 50 ng/μL of dsRNA directed to Cathepsin L2 and control untreated worms. (MP4 1217 kb)

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Rinaldi, G., Dell’Oca, N., Castillo, E., Tort, J.F. (2020). Gene Silencing in the Liver Fluke Fasciola hepatica: RNA Interference. In: Cancela, M., Maggioli, G. (eds) Fasciola hepatica. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2137. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-0475-5_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-0475-5_6

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Humana, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-0716-0474-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-0716-0475-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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