CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a class of small non-coding RNAs, are key regulators of gene expression at posttranscriptionallevel and play essential roles in biological processes such as development. MiRNAs silence targetmRNAs by binding to complementary sequences in the 3′untranslated regions (3′UTRs). The parasitic helminthsof the genus Echinococcus are the causative agents of echinococcosis, a zoonotic neglected disease. In previouswork, we performed a comprehensive identification and characterization of Echinococcus miRNAs. However,current knowledge about their targets is limited. Since target prediction algorithms rely on complementaritybetween 3′UTRs and miRNA sequences, a major limitation is the lack of accurate sequence information of 3′UTRfor most species including parasitic helminths. We performed RNA-seq and developed a pipeline that integratesthe transcriptomic data with available genomic data of this parasite in order to identify 3′UTRs of Echinococcuscanadensis. The high confidence set of 3′UTRs obtained allowed the prediction of miRNA targets in Echinococcusthrough a bioinformatic approach. We performed for the first time a comparative analysis of miRNA targets inEchinococcus and Taenia. We found that many evolutionarily conserved target sites in Echinococcus and Taeniamay be functional and under selective pressure. Signaling pathways such as MAPK and Wnt were among themost represented pathways indicating miRNA roles in parasite growth and development. Genome-wideidentification and characterization of miRNA target genes in Echinococcus provide valuable information toguide experimental studies in order to understand miRNA functions in the parasites biology. miRNAs involved inessential functions, especially those being absent in the host or showing sequence divergence with respect to hostorthologs, might be considered as novel therapeutic targets for echinococcosis control.

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