Additional Funding Sources
The project described was supported by an Institutional Development Award (IDeA) from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Grant No. P20GM103408.
Abstract
Leishmaniasis, Chagas disease, and sleeping sickness, infects millions of people each year. Virally infected pathogens such as Leishmania and Trypanosoma share the phylum with the non-virulent Euglena. Recently, dsRNA (double stranded RNAs) has been found in Euglena mutabilis. Which suggests the presence of viral particles within Euglena mutabilis. Phenol-chloroform based dsRNA extraction is used to obtain dsRNA. Techniques like next Generation sequencing and dsRNA Cloning are used to sequence dsRNA. Cell fragmentation is used to identify the location of dsRNA within Euglena mutabilis. Sequencing and locating dsRNA found in Euglena mutabilis could allow us to identify the function of the viral particle. By comparing the difference of viral particles found in Euglena vs Leishmania and Trypanosoma could illuminate differences in capacity for viral infection between harmless Euglena species and their pathogenic relatives.
Sequencing and Locating dsRNA in Euglena mutabilis
Leishmaniasis, Chagas disease, and sleeping sickness, infects millions of people each year. Virally infected pathogens such as Leishmania and Trypanosoma share the phylum with the non-virulent Euglena. Recently, dsRNA (double stranded RNAs) has been found in Euglena mutabilis. Which suggests the presence of viral particles within Euglena mutabilis. Phenol-chloroform based dsRNA extraction is used to obtain dsRNA. Techniques like next Generation sequencing and dsRNA Cloning are used to sequence dsRNA. Cell fragmentation is used to identify the location of dsRNA within Euglena mutabilis. Sequencing and locating dsRNA found in Euglena mutabilis could allow us to identify the function of the viral particle. By comparing the difference of viral particles found in Euglena vs Leishmania and Trypanosoma could illuminate differences in capacity for viral infection between harmless Euglena species and their pathogenic relatives.