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Background  Phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase-1 (PDK-1), which functions downstream of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (AGE-1) and activates protein kinases of the AGC family, plays critical roles in regulating biology processes, such as metabolism, growth, development and survival. In the free-living nematode  Caenorhabditis elegans , PDK-1 is a key component of the insulin-like signalling pathway, regulating the entry into and exit from dauer (arrested development). Although it is proposed that similar molecular mechanisms control the transition from the free-living to the parasitic stages of nematodes, nothing is known about PDK-1 in  Haemonchus contortus , a socioeconomically important gastric nematode of ruminants.    Methods  Here, we isolated and characterized the  pdk-1  gene ( Hc-pdk-1 ) and its inferred product ( Hc -PDK-1) from  H. contortus . Using in vitro and in vivo methods, we then studied the transcriptional profiles of  Hc-pdk-1  and anatomical gene expression patterns of  Hc -PDK-1 in different developmental stages of  C. elegans .    Results   In silico  analysis of  Hc -PDK-1 displayed conserved functional domains, such as protein kinase and pleckstrin homology (PH) domains and two predicted phosphorylation sites (Thr226/Tyr229), which are crucial for the phosphorylation of downstream signalling. The  Hc-pdk-1  gene is transcribed in all of the main developmental stages of  H. contortus , with its highest transcription in the infective third-stage larvae (iL3) compared with other stages. Transgene constructs, in which respective promoters were fused to the coding sequence for green fluorescent protein (GFP), were used to transform  C. elegans , and to localize and compare the expression of  Hc-pdk-1  and  Ce-pdk-1 . The expression of GFP under the control of the  Hc-pdk-1  promoter was localized to the intestine, and head and tail neurons, contrasting somewhat the profile for the  C. elegans  ortholog, which is expressed in pharynx, intestine and head and tail neurons.    Conclusions  This is the first characterization of  pdk-1/ PDK-1 from a trichostrongyloid nematode. Taken together, the findings from this study provide a first glimpse of the involvement of  Hc-pdk-1  in the insulin-like signalling pathway in  H. contortus .    Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13071-016-1351-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Molecular characterization of the Haemonchus contortus phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase-1 gene (Hc-pdk-1)