Experimental validation of the expression of lncRNAs possibly associated with sexual dimorphism in Schistosoma mansoni

• Grant number: 25/23239-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Program to Stimulate Scientific Vocations
• Start date: January 26, 2026
• End date: March 09, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Parasitology - Helminthology of Parasites
• Principal Investigator: Sergio Verjovski Almeida
• Grantee: João Lucas Timbó Mororó
• Host Institution: Instituto Butantan. São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The project aims to validate the expression of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) potentially associated with sexual dimorphism in RNA samples extracted from Schistosoma mansoni adult females and males. Candidate transcripts will be selected among the lncRNAs recently identified in parasite transcriptome assemblies performed in our group using the new genome version (V10) and all available public RNA-seq data. The activities will involve (i) the design and validation of PCR primer pairs specific for the selected lncRNAs, with analysis of possible off-targets; (ii) quantification of relative expression by RT-qPCR; and (iii) analysis of the obtained data, comparing the expression between the sexes obtained in the bench with the profiles obtained in silico with the RNA-seq data.