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The genomic basis of parasitism in the Strongyloides clade of nematodes.

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Abstract

Soil-transmitted nematodes, including the Strongyloides genus, cause one of the most prevalent neglected tropical diseases. Here we compare the genomes of four Strongyloides species, including the human pathogen Strongyloides stercoralis, and their close relatives that are facultatively parasitic (Parastrongyloides trichosuri) and free-living (Rhabditophanes sp. KR3021). A significant paralogous expansion of key gene families--families encoding astacin-like and SCP/TAPS proteins--is associated with the evolution of parasitism in this clade. Exploiting the unique Strongyloides life cycle, we compare the transcriptomes of the parasitic and free-living stages and find that these same gene families are upregulated in the parasitic stages, underscoring their role in nematode parasitism.

Acceptance Date Dec 23, 2015
Publication Date Feb 1, 2016
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Nature Genetics
Print ISSN 1546-1718
Publisher Nature Publishing Group
Pages 299 - 307
DOI https://doi.org/10.1038/ng.3495
Keywords Gene Expression; Genome Informatics; Genomics; Sequencing
Publisher URL https://www.nature.com/ng/journal/v48/n3/full/ng.3495.html#author-information

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