Fig. 4: Female gametes express genes that are required for genetic recombination and oocyst formation.
From: Life cycle progression and sexual development of the apicomplexan parasite Cryptosporidium parvum
a–c, Heat maps illustrating expression of genes associated with specific molecular functions that are upregulated in females (generally results from in vivo and in vitro females concur, although there are some exceptions). Genetic recombination (a), oocyst environmental resilience (b) and energy storage (c); n = 4 biological replicates per group. d, Expression heat map for all C. parvum AP2 DNA-binding proteins. Note the pronounced difference identifying four genes upregulated in all females and two only in in vivo females. As we were unable to sequence males, we cannot formally exclude that some genes that show high female-specific expression may be upregulated in all sexual stages. Expression values are given as row z-scores and annotated genes list are provided as Supplementary Files. Genes from the leading edge in Fig. 3b are highlighted in red text.
