Dataset Information

Discovery of trypanosomatid parasites in globally distributed Drosophila species.

ABSTRACT: Microbial parasites of animals include bacteria, viruses, and various unicellular eukaryotes. Because of the difficulty in studying these microorganisms in both humans and disease vectors, laboratory models are commonly used for experimental analysis of host-parasite interactions. Drosophila is one such model that has made significant contributions to our knowledge of bacterial, fungal, and viral infections. Despite this, less is known about other potential parasites associated with natural Drosophila populations. Here, we surveyed sixteen Drosophila populations comprising thirteen species from four continents and Hawaii and found that they are associated with an extensive diversity of trypanosomatids (Euglenozoa, Kinetoplastea). Phylogenetic analysis finds that Drosophila-associated trypanosomatids are closely related to taxa that are responsible for various types of leishmaniases and more distantly related to the taxa responsible for human African trypanosomiasis and Chagas disease. We suggest that Drosophila may provide a powerful system for studying the interactions between trypanosomatids and their hosts.

SUBMITTER: Chandler JA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3639215 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Discovery of trypanosomatid parasites in globally distributed Drosophila species.

Chandler James Angus JA James Pamela M PM

PloS one 20130429 4

Microbial parasites of animals include bacteria, viruses, and various unicellular eukaryotes. Because of the difficulty in studying these microorganisms in both humans and disease vectors, laboratory models are commonly used for experimental analysis of host-parasite interactions. Drosophila is one such model that has made significant contributions to our knowledge of bacterial, fungal, and viral infections. Despite this, less is known about other potential parasites associated with natural Dros ...[more]

PMID: 23658617

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Project description:BackgroundTrypanosomatids are among the most critical parasites for public health due to their impact on human, animal, and plant health. Diseases associated with these pathogens manifest mainly in poor and vulnerable populations, where social, environmental, and biological factors modulate the case incidence and geographical distribution.MethodsWe used Sanger and amplicon-based next-generation sequencing (NGS) in samples from different mammals to identify trypanosomatid infections in several departments in Colombia. A total of 174 DNA samples (18 humans, 83 dogs, and 73 wild mammals) were analyzed by conventional PCR using a fragment of the heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) gene and Sanger sequenced the positive samples. Twenty-seven samples were sent for amplicon-based NGS using the same gene fragment. Data obtained were used to perform diversity analyses.ResultsOne hundred and thirteen samples were positive for PCR by Hsp70 fragment; these corresponded to 22.1% Leishmania spp., 18.6% L. amazonensis, 9.7% L. braziliensis, 14.2% L. infantum, 8% L. panamensis, and 27.4% Trypanosoma cruzi. Comparison of the identified species by the two sequencing technologies used resulted in 97% concordance. Alpha and beta diversity indices were significant, mainly for dogs; there was an interesting index of coinfection events in the analyzed samples: different Leishmania species and the simultaneous presence of T. cruzi and even T. rangeli in one of the samples analyzed. Moreover, a low presence of L. braziliensis was observed in samples from wild mammals. Interestingly, to our knowledge, this is the first report of Leishmania detection in Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris (capybara) in Colombia.ConclusionsThe Hsp70 fragment used in this study is an optimal molecular marker for trypanosomatid identification in many hosts and allows the identification of different species in the same sample when amplicon-based sequencing is used. However, the use of this fragment for molecular diagnosis through conventional PCR should be carefully interpreted because of this same capacity to identify several parasites. This point is of pivotal importance in highly endemic countries across South America because of the co-circulation of different genera from the Trypanosomatidae family. The findings show an interesting starting point for One Health approaches in which coevolution and vector-host interactions can be studied.

Project description:BackgroundLarge amino acid transporter gene families were identified from the genome sequences of three parasitic protists, Trypanosoma brucei, Trypanosoma cruzi and Leishmania major. These genes encode molecular sensors of the external host environment for trypanosomatid cells and are crucial to modulation of gene expression as the parasite passes through different life stages. This study provides a comprehensive phylogenetic account of the origins of these genes, redefining each locus according to a positional criterion, through the integration of phyletic identity with comparative gene order information.ResultsEach locus was individually specified by its surrounding gene order and associated with homologs showing the same position ('homoeologs') in other species, where available. Bayesian and maximum likelihood phylogenies were in general agreement on systematic relationships and confirmed several 'orthology sets' of genes retained since divergence from the common ancestor. Reconciliation analysis quantified the scale of duplication and gene loss, as well as identifying further apparent orthology sets, which lacked conservation of genomic position. These instances suggested substantial genomic restructuring or transposition. Other analyses identified clear instances of evolutionary rate changes post-duplication, the effects of concerted evolution within tandem gene arrays and gene conversion events between syntenic loci.ConclusionDespite their importance to cell function and parasite development, the repertoires of AAT loci in trypanosomatid parasites are relatively fluid in both complement and gene dosage. Some loci are ubiquitous and, after an ancient origin through transposition, originated through descent from the ancestral trypanosomatid. However, reconciliation analysis demonstrated that unilateral expansions of gene number through tandem gene duplication, transposition of gene duplicates to otherwise well conserved genomic positions, and differential patterns of gene loss have produced largely customised and idiosyncratic AAT repertoires in all three species. Not least in T. brucei, which seems to have retained fewer ancestral loci and has acquired novel loci through a complex mix of tandem and transpositive duplication.

Dataset Information

Discovery of trypanosomatid parasites in globally distributed Drosophila species.

Publications

Discovery of trypanosomatid parasites in globally distributed Drosophila species.

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