Systems-Based Analysis of the Sarcocystis neurona Genome Identifies Pathways That Contribute to a Heteroxenous Life Cycle

Blazejewski, Tomasz; Nursimulu, Nirvana; Pszenny, Viviana; Dangoudoubiyam, Sriveny; Namasivayam, Sivaranjani; Chiasson, Melissa A.; Chessman, Kyle; Tonkin, Michelle; Swapna, Lakshmipuram S.; Hung, Stacy S.; Bridgers, Joshua; Ricklefs, Stacy M.; Boulanger, Martin J.; Dubey, Jitender P.; Porcella, Stephen F.; Kissinger, Jessica C.; Howe, Daniel K.; Grigg, Michael E.; Parkinson, John

While the mechanism of gene regulation within the SnSRS family has yet to be elucidated, it may influence the host range, the capacity to promote coinfection, and/or pathogenicity among the broad intermediate-host range of S. neurona, much the same way differential expression of TgSRS2 alters the parasite load and the pathology of T. gondii infection in mice (4) . Importantly, a high prevalence of coinfection with different genetic types of S. neurona within intermediate hosts would promote outcrossing during sexual reproduction. Outcrossing in Toxoplasma has previously been shown to produce progeny possessing altered biological potentials, including virulence and a capacity to cause outbreaks (48) , which has recently also been established for S. neurona (15) .