Diversity and selective pressures of anticoagulants in three medicinal leeches (Hirudinida: Hirudinidae, Macrobdellidae)
Research article published in Ecol Evol (2013)
Abstract
Although medicinal leeches have long been used as treatment for various ailments because of their potent anticoagulation factors, neither the full diversity of salivary components that inhibit coagulation, nor the evolutionary selection acting on them has been thoroughly investigated. Here, we constructed expressed sequence tag libraries from salivary glands of two species of medicinal hirudinoid leeches, Hirudo verbana and Aliolimnatis fenestrata, and identified anticoagulant-orthologs through BLASTx searches. The data set then was augmented by the addition of a previously constructed EST library from the macrobdelloid leech Macrobdella decora. The identified orthologs then were compared and contrasted with well-characterized anticoagulants from a variety of leeches with different feeding habits, including non-sanguivorous species. Moreover, four different statistical methods for predicting signatures of positive and negative evolutionary pressures were used for 10 rounds each to assess the level and type of selection acting on the molecules as a whole and on specific sites. In total, sequences showing putative BLASTx-orthology with five and three anticoagulant-families were recovered in the A. fenestrata and H. verbana EST libraries respectively. Selection pressure analyses predicted high levels of purifying selection across the anticoagulant diversity, although a few isolated sites showed signatures of positive selection. This study represents a first attempt at mapping the anticoagulant repertoires in a comparative fashion across several leech families.
Abstract sourced from PubMed (NCBI) for the cited record. See the original publication for the authoritative version.
Resumen
EST libraries from Hirudo verbana, Aliolimnatis fenestrata, and Macrobdella decora salivary glands; purifying selection dominates the anticoagulant repertoire with a few isolated sites under positive selection.
Por qué esto importa para la hirudoterapia
Este estudio construyó bibliotecas de etiquetas de secuencias expresadas (EST) a partir de las glándulas salivales de las sanguijuelas hirudinoides Hirudo verbana y Aliolimnatis fenestrata, e incorporó una biblioteca de EST previamente construida de la sanguijuela macrobdeloide Macrobdella decora, para mapear comparativamente la diversidad de ortólogos anticoagulantes y evaluar las presiones de selección evolutiva. Se recuperaron ortólogos putativos que abarcan cinco y tres familias de anticoagulantes de A. fenestrata y H. verbana respectivamente, con predominantemente selección purificadora y sitios aislados de selección positiva. Este trabajo es relevante para el dominio de ASH ya que proporciona datos moleculares comparativos sobre moléculas anticoagulantes en las glándulas salivales de sanguijuelas a través de múltiples grupos de sanguijuelas. Sin embargo, el estudio es puramente molecular y evolutivo, sin datos de bioensayos funcionales ni correlaciones clínicas, por lo que sus implicaciones terapéuticas prácticas son indirectas.
Citación
Diversity and selective pressures of anticoagulants in three medicinal leeches (Hirudinida: Hirudinidae, Macrobdellidae).
Kvist S et al. · Ecol Evol, 2013
Contexto clínico relacionado
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Añadido a la biblioteca ASH: May 27, 2026 · Última actualización del sitio: 18 de junio de 2026