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Background  The TGF-β signalling pathway plays a key role in regulating dauer formation in the free-living nematode  Caenorhabditis elegans , and previous work has shown that TGF-β receptors are involved in parasitic nematodes. Here, we explored the structure and function of a TGF-β type II receptor homologue in the TGF-β signalling pathway in  Haemonchus contortus , a highly pathogenic, haematophagous parasitic nematode.    Methodology/Principal findings  Amino acid sequence and phylogenetic analyses revealed that the protein, called  Hc- TGFBR2 (encoded by the gene  Hc-tgfbr2 ), is a member of TGF-β type II receptor family and contains conserved functional domains, both in the extracellular region containing cysteine residues that form a characteristic feature (CXCX 4 C) of TGF-β type II receptor and in the intracellular regions containing a serine/threonine kinase domain. The  Hc-tgfbr2  gene was transcribed in all key developmental stages of  H .  contortus , with particularly high levels in the infective third-stage larvae (L3s) and male adults. Immunohistochemical results revealed that  Hc- TGFBR2 was expressed in the intestine, ovary and eggs within the uterus of female adults, and also in the testes of male adults of  H .  contortus . Double-stranded RNA interference (RNAi) in this nematode by soaking induced a marked decrease in transcription of  Hc-tgfbr2  and in development from the exsheathed L3 to the fourth-stage larva (L4) in vitro.    Conclusions/Significance  These results indicate that  Hc- TGFBR2 plays an important role in governing developmental processes in  H .  contortus  via the TGF-β signalling pathway, particularly in the transition from the free-living to the parasitic stages.

A TGF-β type II receptor that associates with developmental transition in Haemonchus contortus in vitro