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Background  The microsporidian  Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei  (EHP) is a spore-forming, intracellular parasite that causes an economically debilitating disease (hepatopancreatic microsporidiosis or HPM) in cultured shrimp. HPM is characterized by growth retardation and wide size variation that can result in economic loss for shrimp farmers. Currently, the infection mechanism of EHP in shrimp is poorly understood, especially at the level of host-parasite interaction. In other microsporidia, spore wall proteins have been reported to be involved in host cell recognition. For the host, heparin, a glycosaminoglycan (GAG) molecule found on cell surfaces, has been shown to be recognized by many parasites such as  Plasmodium  spp. and  Leishmania  spp.    Results  We identified and characterized the first spore wall protein of EHP (EhSWP1). EhSWP1 contains three heparin binding motifs (HBMs) at its N-terminus and a Bin-amphiphysin-Rvs-2 (BAR2) domain at its C-terminus. A phylogenetic analysis revealed that EhSWP1 is similar to an uncharacterized spore wall protein from  Enterospora canceri.  In a cohabitation bioassay using EHP-infected shrimp with naïve shrimp, the expression of  EhSWP1  was detected by RT-PCR in the naïve test shrimp at 20 days after the start of cohabitation. Immunofluorescence analysis confirmed that EhSWP1 was localized in the walls of purified, mature spores. Subcellular localization by an immunoelectron assay revealed that EhSWP1 was distributed in both the endospore and exospore layers. An in vitro binding assay, a competition assay and mutagenesis studies revealed that EhSWP1 is a  bona fide  heparin binding protein.    Conclusions  Based on our results, we hypothesize that EhSWP1 is an important host-parasite interaction protein involved in tethering spores to host-cell-surface heparin during the process of infection.    Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (10.1186/s13071-018-2758-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

parasites and vectors

Identification, characterization and heparin binding capacity of a spore-wall, virulence protein from the shrimp microsporidian, Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei (EHP)