Establishment of a Transient and Stable Transfection System for Babesia duncani Using a Homologous Recombination Strategy

Autor: Sen Wang, Dongfang Li, Fangwei Chen, Weijun Jiang, Wanxin Luo, Guan Zhu, Junlong Zhao, Lan He
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2022
Předmět:
Zdroj: Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, Vol 12 (2022)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2235-2988
DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.844498
Popis: Genetic modification provides an invaluable molecular tool to dissect the biology and pathogenesis of pathogens. However, no report is available about the genetic modification of Babesia duncani, a pathogen responsible for human babesiosis that is widespread in North America, suggesting the necessity to develop a genetic manipulation method to improve the strategies for studying and understanding the biology of protozoan pathogens. The establishment of a genetic modification method requires promoters, selectable markers, and reporter genes. Here, the double-copy gene elongation factor-1α (ef-1α) and its promoters were amplified by conventional PCR and confirmed by sequencing. We established a transient transfection system by using the ef-1αB promoter and the reporter gene mCherry and achieved stable transfection through homologous recombination to integrate the selection marker hDHFR-eGFP into the parasite genome. The potential of this genetic modification method was tested by knocking out the thioredoxin peroxidase-1 (TPX-1) gene, and under the drug pressure of 5 nM WR99210, 96.3% of the parasites were observed to express green fluorescence protein (eGFP) by flow cytometry at day 7 post-transfection. Additionally, the clone line of the TPX-1 knockout parasite was successfully obtained by the limiting dilution method. This study provided a transfection method for B. duncani, which may facilitate gene function research and vaccine development of B. duncani.
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