Fasciola hepatica is a species of parasitic flatworm of global concern, due to its ability to cause fascioliasis in both humans and animals with a significant impact on livestock species. An estimated 90 million humans and 700 million ruminants are at risk of liver fluke infection, with economic losses considered a serious issue for farming communities. Infection risk is highly dependent on the presence of the intermediate snail host Galba truncatula in the environment. At present, detection of snail hosts is limited to physical identification or through novel environmental DNA (eDNA) methodologies. This study intends to uncover alternative novel environmental biomarkers for G. truncatula supporting liver fluke control to improve field diagnostics and subsequently highlight risk areas for F. hepatica infection. In the absence of G. trunctatula genome or transcriptome support we have generated the first discovery transcriptome for G. truncatula supported with transcriptomes from the closely related Galba cubensis. The transcriptomes for G. truncatula and G. cubensis were generated using tRNA harvested from snails at three different time points: day 0 (uninfected), 10 days post infection, and 42 days post infection. These discovery transcriptomes are now supporting metaproteomic approaches for the detection of environmental proteins (eProteins) from G. truncatula and F. hepatica. To identify eProteins, water sample collection has been performed on G. truncatula and F. hepatica isolates across life stages (including embryonating eggs, hatching miracidia, and their subsequent decay). All water samples have been analysed through a GeLC metaproteomic approach to identify eProteins detected in experimental water samples.
