Equus roundworms (Parascaris univalens) are undergoing rapid divergence while genes involved in metabolic as well as anthelminic resistance are under positive selection
Lei Han,
Tianming Lan,
Yaxian Lu,
Mengchao Zhou,
Haimeng Li,
Haorong Lu,
Qing Wang,
Xiuyun Li,
Shan Du,
Chunyu Guan,
Yong Zhang,
Sunil Kumar Sahu,
Puyi Qian,
Shaofang Zhang,
Hongcheng Zhou,
Wei Guo,
Hongliang Chai,
Sibo Wang,
Quan Liu,
Huan Liu,
Zhijun Hou
Affiliations
Lei Han
College of Wildlife and Protected Area, Northeast Forestry University
Tianming Lan
BGI Life Science Joint Research Center, Northeast Forestry University
Yaxian Lu
College of Wildlife and Protected Area, Northeast Forestry University
Mengchao Zhou
College of Wildlife and Protected Area, Northeast Forestry University
Haimeng Li
State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genomics, BGI-Shenzhen
Haorong Lu
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Genome Read and Write, BGI-Shenzhen
Qing Wang
State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genomics, BGI-Shenzhen
Xiuyun Li
Harbin Northern Forest Zoo
Shan Du
Inner Mongolia Agriculture University
Chunyu Guan
Harbin Northern Forest Zoo
Yong Zhang
Center for Animal Disease Control and Prevention of Ordos
Sunil Kumar Sahu
State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genomics, BGI-Shenzhen
Puyi Qian
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Genome Read and Write, BGI-Shenzhen
Shaofang Zhang
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Genome Read and Write, BGI-Shenzhen
Hongcheng Zhou
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Genome Read and Write, BGI-Shenzhen
Wei Guo
State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Biotechnology, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences
Hongliang Chai
College of Wildlife and Protected Area, Northeast Forestry University
Sibo Wang
State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genomics, BGI-Shenzhen
Quan Liu
College of Wildlife and Protected Area, Northeast Forestry University
Huan Liu
BGI Life Science Joint Research Center, Northeast Forestry University
Zhijun Hou
College of Wildlife and Protected Area, Northeast Forestry University
Abstract Background The evolution of parasites is often directly affected by the host's environment. Studies on the evolution of the same parasites in different hosts are of great interest and are highly relevant to our understanding of divergence. Methods Here we performed whole-genome sequencing of Parascaris univalens from different Equus hosts (horses, zebras and donkeys). Phylogenetic and selection analyses were performed to study the divergence and adaptability of P. univalens. Results At the genetic level, multiple lines of evidence indicate that P. univalens is mainly separated into two clades (horse-derived and zebra & donkey-derived). This divergence began 300–1000 years ago, and we found that most of the key enzymes related to glycolysis were under strong positive selection in zebra & donkey-derived roundworms, whereas the lipid-related metabolic system was under positive selection in horse-derived roundworms, indicating that the adaptive evolution of metabolism has occurred over the past few centuries. In addition, we found that some drug-related genes showed a significantly higher degree of selection in diverse populations. Conclusions This work reports the adaptive evolution and divergence trend of P. univalens in different hosts for the first time. Its results indicate that the divergence of P. univalens is a continuous, dynamic process. Furthermore, the continuous monitoring of the effects of differences in nutritional and drug histories on the rapid evolution of roundworms is conducive to further understanding host-parasite interactions.
