BioProject

Growing evidence indicates that 7-methylguanosine (m7G) modification plays critical roles in epigenetic regulation. More...

Growing evidence indicates that 7-methylguanosine (m7G) modification plays critical roles in epigenetic regulation. However, no data regarding m7G modification are currently available in Eimeria tenella, a highly virulent species causing coccidiosis in chickens. Thus, in the present study, we explored the distribution of internal mRNA m7G modification in sporulated and unsporulated oocysts of E. tenella as well as its biological functions during oocyst development. Our data showed that m7G peaks were detected throughout the whole mRNA body, and the coding DNA sequence (CDS) region displayed the most methylation modification. Compared with unsporulated oocysts, 7799 hypermethylated peaks and 1945 hypomethylated peaks were identified in sporulated oocysts. Further combined analysis of differentially methylated genes (DMGs) and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) showed that there was a positive correlation between m7G modification levels and gene transcript abundance. Unsurprisingly, the mRNA sequencing (RNA-seq) and methylated RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing (MeRIP-seq) data showed a good consistence with the results of the quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) and MeRIP-qPCR, respectively. Gene Ontology (GO) and pathway enrichment analysis of DEGs with altered m7G-methylated peaks were involved in diverse biological functions and pathways, including DNA replication, RNA transport, spliceosome, autophagy-yeast, and cAMP signaling pathway. Altogether, our findings revealed the potential significance of internal m7G modification in E. tenella oocysts, providing some directions and clues for later in-depth research. Overall design: MeRIP-seq and RNA-seq of sporulated and unsporulated oocysts of E. tenella. Less...