Comparative genomics reveals multiple genetic backgrounds of human pathogenicity in the Trypanosoma brucei complex.

ABSTRACT: The Trypanosoma brucei complex contains a number of subspecies with exceptionally variable life histories, including zoonotic subspecies, which are causative agents of human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) in sub-Saharan Africa. Paradoxically, genomic variation between taxa is extremely low. We analyzed the whole-genome sequences of 39 isolates across the T. brucei complex from diverse hosts and regions, identifying 608,501 single nucleotide polymorphisms that represent 2.33% of the nuclear genome. We show that human pathogenicity occurs across a wide range of parasite genotypes, and taxonomic designation does not reflect genetic variation across the group, as previous studies have suggested based on a small number of genes. This genome-wide study allowed the identification of significant ho

SUBMITTER: Sistrom M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4224348 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature