Journal Article

Genomics of Loa loa, a Wolbachia-free filarial parasite of humans

Zeng, Qiandong, Haas, Brian J, Nutman, Thomas B, Wortman, Jennifer R, Zucker, Jeremy, Levin, Joshua Z, Russ, Carsten, Birren, Bruce W, Hotopp, Julie C Dunning, Desjardins, Christopher A, Saif, Sakina, Fan, Lin, Goldberg, Jonathan M, Fink, Doran L, Cerqueira, Gustavo C, Ribeiro, José M C

2013

Overview

Thomas Nutman and colleagues report the draft genome of the filarial pathogen Loa loa , the African eyeworm. They also report coverage of two other filarial pathogens, Wuchereria bancrofti and Onchocerca volvulus . Unlike most filariae, L. loa lacks an obligate intracellular Wolbachia endosymbiont, and comparative genomic analyses suggest that the L. loa genome does not contain new metabolic synthesis or transport pathways compared to other filariae. Loa loa , the African eyeworm, is a major filarial pathogen of humans. Unlike most filariae, L. loa does not contain the obligate intracellular Wolbachia endosymbiont. We describe the 91.4-Mb genome of L. loa and that of the related filarial parasite Wuchereria bancrofti and predict 14,907 L. loa genes on the basis of microfilarial RNA sequencing. By comparing these genomes to that of another filarial parasite, Brugia malayi , and to those of several other nematodes, we demonstrate synteny among filariae but not with nonparasitic nematodes. The L. loa genome encodes many immunologically relevant genes, as well as protein kinases targeted by drugs currently approved for use in humans. Despite lacking Wolbachia , L. loa shows no new metabolic synthesis or transport capabilities compared to other filariae. These results suggest that the role of Wolbachia in filarial biology is more subtle than previously thought and reveal marked differences between parasitic and nonparasitic nematodes.

• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group US,Nature Publishing Group
• Subject: 631/208/726 / 631/326/417/2551 / 631/337 / Agriculture / Animal Genetics and Genomics / Animals / Biomedicine / Brugia malayi / Brugia malayi - genetics / Cancer Research / Filariasis - genetics / Filariasis - parasitology / Filarioidea - genetics / Filarioidea - parasitology / Gene Function / Genealogy / Genes / Genes, Helminth - genetics / Genetic aspects / Genome, Helminth / Genomes / Genomics / Health aspects / Human Genetics / Humans / Hypotheses / Loa - genetics / Molecular Sequence Data / Nematoda / Nematodes / Parasites / Phylogeny / Protein Kinases - metabolism / Symbiosis / Tropical diseases / Wolbachia / Wolbachia - genetics / Wuchereria bancrofti / Wuchereria bancrofti - genetics