Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2019
Department/Program/Center
Biology
Abstract
Background: Tsetse flies (Glossina sp.) are the vectors of human and animal trypanosomiasis throughout subSaharan Africa. Tsetse flies are distinguished from other Diptera by unique adaptations, including lactation and the birthing of live young (obligate viviparity), a vertebrate blood-specific diet by both sexes, and obligate bacterial symbiosis. This work describes the comparative analysis of six Glossina genomes representing three sub-genera: Morsitans (G. morsitans morsitans, G. pallidipes, G. austeni), Palpalis (G. palpalis, G. fuscipes), and Fusca (G. brevipalpis) which represent different habitats, host preferences, and vectorial capacity. Results: Genomic analyses validate established evolutionary relationships and sub-genera. Syntenic analysis of Glossina relative to Drosophila melanogaster shows reduced structural conservation across the sex-linked X chromosome. Sex-linked scaffolds show increased rates of female-specific gene expression and lower evolutionary rates relative to autosome associated genes. Tsetse-specific genes are enriched in protease, odorant-binding, and helicase activities. Lactation-associated genes are conserved across all Glossina species while male seminal proteins are rapidly evolving. Olfactory and gustatory genes are reduced across the genus relative to other insects. Visionassociated Rhodopsin genes show conservation of motion detection/tracking functions and variance in the Rhodopsin detecting colors in the blue wavelength ranges. Conclusions: Expanded genomic discoveries reveal the genetics underlying Glossina biology and provide a rich body of knowledge for basic science and disease control. They also provide insight into the evolutionary biology underlying novel adaptations and are relevant to applied aspects of vector control such as trap design and discovery of novel pest and disease control strategies.
Digital Commons Citation
Attardo, Geoffrey M.; Abd-Alla, Adly M. M.; Acosta-Serrano, Alvaro; Allen, James E.; Bateta, Rosemary; Benoit, Joshua B.; Bourtzis, Kostas; Caers, Jelle; Caljon, Guy; Christensen, Mikkel B.; Farrow, David W.; Friedrich, Markus; Hua-Van, Aurélie; Jennings, Emily C.; Larkin, Denis M.; Lawson, Daniel; Lehane, Michael J.; Lenis, Vasileios P.; Lowy-Gallego, Ernesto; Macharia, Rosaline W.; Malacrida, Anna R.; Marco, Heather G.; Masiga, Daniel; Maslen, Gareth L.; Matetovic, Irina; Meisel, Richard P.; Meki, Irene; Michalkova, Veronika; Miller, Wolfgang J.; Minx, Patrick; Mireji, Paul O.; Ometto, Lino; Parker, Andrew G.; Rio, Rita; Rose, Clair; Rosendale, Andrew J.; Rota-Stabelli, Omar; Savini, Grazia; Schoofs, Liliane; Scolari, Francesca; Swain, Martin T.; Takáč, Peter; Tomlinson, Chad; Tsiamis, George; Abbeele, Jan Van; Vigneron, Aurelien; Wang, Jingwen; Warren, Wesley C.; Waterhouse, Robert M.; Weirauch, Mathew T.; Weiss, Brian L.; Wilson, Richard K.; Zhao, Xin; and Aksoy, Serap, "Comparative Genomic Analysis of six Glossina Genomes, Vectors of African Trypanosomes" (2019). Faculty & Staff Scholarship. 1811.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/faculty_publications/1811
Source Citation
Attardo, G. M., Abd-Alla, A. M. M., Acosta-Serrano, A., Allen, J. E., Bateta, R., Benoit, J. B., Bourtzis, K., Caers, J., Caljon, G., Christensen, M. B., Farrow, D. W., Friedrich, M., Hua-Van, A., Jennings, E. C., Larkin, D. M., Lawson, D., Lehane, M. J., Lenis, V. P., Lowy-Gallego, E., … Aksoy, S. (2019). Comparative genomic analysis of six Glossina genomes, vectors of African trypanosomes. Genome Biology, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13059-019-1768-2
Comments
© The Author(s). 2019 Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated