Comparative genomic analysis of Babesia duncani responsible for human babesiosis
Jinming Wang,
Kai Chen,
Jifei Yang,
Shangdi Zhang,
Youquan Li,
Guangyuan Liu,
Jianxun Luo,
Hong Yin,
Guangying Wang,
Guiquan Guan
Affiliations
Jinming Wang
State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, Key Laboratory of Veterinary Parasitology of Gansu Province, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science
Kai Chen
Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Jifei Yang
State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, Key Laboratory of Veterinary Parasitology of Gansu Province, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science
Shangdi Zhang
Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Second Hospital of Lanzhou University
Youquan Li
State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, Key Laboratory of Veterinary Parasitology of Gansu Province, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science
Guangyuan Liu
State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, Key Laboratory of Veterinary Parasitology of Gansu Province, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science
Jianxun Luo
State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, Key Laboratory of Veterinary Parasitology of Gansu Province, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science
Hong Yin
State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, Key Laboratory of Veterinary Parasitology of Gansu Province, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science
Guangying Wang
Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Guiquan Guan
State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, Key Laboratory of Veterinary Parasitology of Gansu Province, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science
Abstract Background Human babesiosis, caused by parasites of the genus Babesia, is an emerging and re-emerging tick-borne disease that is mainly transmitted by tick bites and infected blood transfusion. Babesia duncani has caused majority of human babesiosis in Canada; however, limited data are available to correlate its genomic information and biological features. Results We generated a B. duncani reference genome using Oxford Nanopore Technology (ONT) and Illumina sequencing technology and uncovered its biological features and phylogenetic relationship with other Apicomplexa parasites. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that B. duncani form a clade distinct from B. microti, Babesia spp. infective to bovine and ovine species, and Theileria spp. infective to bovines. We identified the largest species-specific gene family that could be applied as diagnostic markers for this pathogen. In addition, two gene families show signals of significant expansion and several genes that present signatures of positive selection in B. duncani, suggesting their possible roles in the capability of this parasite to infect humans or tick vectors. Conclusions Using ONT sequencing and Illumina sequencing technologies, we provide the first B. duncani reference genome and confirm that B. duncani forms a phylogenetically distinct clade from other Piroplasm parasites. Comparative genomic analyses show that two gene families are significantly expanded in B. duncani and may play important roles in host cell invasion and virulence of B. duncani. Our study provides basic information for further exploring B. duncani features, such as host-parasite and tick-parasite interactions.
