Scholarlink

<p><i>Trichomonas vaginalis</i>, the causative agent of the venereal disease trichomoniasis, infects men and women globally and is associated with serious outcomes during pregnancy, increased risk of HIV-1 infection, and cancers of the human reproductive tract. Species of trichomonad parasitize a range of hosts in addition to humans, including birds, livestock, and pets. Genetic analysis of trichomonads recovered from columbid birds has provided evidence that they undergo frequent host-switching, and that a spillover event from columbids likely gave rise to <i>T. vaginalis</i> in humans. Here we describe a comparative genomics study of seven trichomonad species, generating chromosome-scale reference genomes for <i>T. vaginalis</i> and its avian sister species <i>Trichomonas stableri</i>, and assemblies of five other species that infect birds and mammals. Human-infecting trichomonad lineages have undergone recent and convergent genome size expansions compared to their avian sister species, a result of extensive repeat expansions specifically of multicopy gene families and transposable elements, with genetic drift likely a driver due to relaxed selection. Trichomonads are thought to have independently host-switched twice from birds to mammals/humans. We identify gene functions implicated in the transition, including host tissue adherence and phagocytosis, extracellular vesicle formation, and CAZyme virulence factors, which are all associated with pathogenesis phenotypes.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Comparative genomics of the parasite Trichomonas vaginalis reveals genes involved in spillover from birds to humans

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2025年7月24日

查看全文
  • Steven A. Sullivan,
  • Jordan C. Orosco,
  • Francisco Callejas-Hernández,
  • Frances Blow,
  • Hayan Lee,
  • T. Rhyker Ranallo-Benavidez,
  • Andrew Peters,
  • Shane R. Raidal,
  • Yvette A. Girard,
  • Christine K. Johnson,
  • Krysta H. Rogers,
  • Richard Gerhold,
  • Hayley Mangelson,
  • Ivan Liachko,
  • Harsh Srivastava,
  • Chris Chandler,
  • Daniel Berenberg,
  • Richard A. Bonneau,
  • Po-Jung Huang,
  • Yuan-Ming Yeh,
  • Chi-Ching Lee,
  • Hsuan Liu,
  • Ting-Wen Chen,
  • Petrus Tang,
  • Cheng-Hsun Chiu,
  • Michael C. Schatz,
  • Jane M. Carlton

摘要

Trichomonas vaginalis, the causative agent of the venereal disease trichomoniasis, infects men and women globally and is associated with serious outcomes during pregnancy, increased risk of HIV-1 infection, and cancers of the human reproductive tract. Species of trichomonad parasitize a range of hosts in addition to humans, including birds, livestock, and pets. Genetic analysis of trichomonads recovered from columbid birds has provided evidence that they undergo frequent host-switching, and that a spillover event from columbids likely gave rise to T. vaginalis in humans. Here we describe a comparative genomics study of seven trichomonad species, generating chromosome-scale reference genomes for T. vaginalis and its avian sister species Trichomonas stableri, and assemblies of five other species that infect birds and mammals. Human-infecting trichomonad lineages have undergone recent and convergent genome size expansions compared to their avian sister species, a result of extensive repeat expansions specifically of multicopy gene families and transposable elements, with genetic drift likely a driver due to relaxed selection. Trichomonads are thought to have independently host-switched twice from birds to mammals/humans. We identify gene functions implicated in the transition, including host tissue adherence and phagocytosis, extracellular vesicle formation, and CAZyme virulence factors, which are all associated with pathogenesis phenotypes.