Molecular evidence of hybridization between pig and human Ascaris indicates an interbred species complex infecting humans
File(s)Molecular evidence of hybridization between pig and human Ascaris.pdf (3.23 MB)
Published online version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Human ascariasis is a major neglected tropical disease caused by the nematode Ascaris lumbricoides. We report a 296 megabase (Mb) reference-quality genome comprised of 17,902 protein-coding genes derived from a single, representative Ascaris worm. An additional 68 worms were collected from 60 human hosts in Kenyan villages where pig husbandry is rare. Notably, the majority of these worms (63/68) possessed mitochondrial genomes that clustered closer to the pig parasite Ascaris suum than to A. lumbricoides. Comparative phylogenomic analyses identified over 11 million nuclear-encoded SNPs but just two distinct genetic types that had recombined across the genomes analyzed. The nuclear genomes had extensive heterozygosity, and all samples existed as genetic mosaics with either A. suum-like or A. lumbricoides-like inheritance patterns supporting a highly interbred Ascaris species genetic complex. As no barriers appear to exist for anthroponotic transmission of these 'hybrid' worms, a one-health approach to control the spread of human ascariasis will be necessary.
Date Issued
2020-11-06
Date Acceptance
2020-10-19
Citation
eLife, 2020, 9
ISSN
2050-084X
Publisher
eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
Journal / Book Title
eLife
Volume
9
Copyright Statement
This is an open-access article,free of all copyright, and may befreely reproduced, distributed,transmitted, modified, builtupon, or otherwise used byanyone for any lawful purpose.The work is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication.
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33155980
PII: 61562
Subjects
Ascaris lumbricoides
Ascaris suum
Phylogenetics
epidemiology
genetics
genomics
global health
human
reference genome
species complex
zoonoses
Publication Status
Published online
Coverage Spatial
England
Date Publish Online
2020-11-06