Genome sequence of Ophryocystis elektroscirrha, an apicomplexan parasite of monarch butterflies: cryptic diversity and response to host-sequestered plant chemicals.

ABSTRACT: Apicomplexa are ancient and diverse organisms which have been poorly characterized by modern genomics. To better understand the evolution and diversity of these single-celled eukaryotes, we sequenced the genome of Ophryocystis elektroscirrha, a parasite of monarch butterflies, Danaus plexippus. We contextualize our newly generated resources within apicomplexan genomics before answering longstanding questions specific to this host-parasite system. To start, the genome is miniscule, totaling only 9 million bases and containing fewer than 3,000 genes, half the gene content of two other sequenced invertebrate-infecting apicomplexans, Porospora gigantea and Gregarina niphandrodes. We found that O. elektroscirrha shares different orthologs with each sequenced relative, suggesting the true set of

SUBMITTER: Mongue AJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10210345 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature