Genome-wide association of trypanosome infection status in the tsetse fly Glossina fuscipes, the major vector of African trypanosomiasis in Uganda
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Date
2022
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Research Square
Abstract
The primary vector of the trypanosome parasite causing human and animal African trypanosomiasis in Uganda
is the riverine tsetse fly Glossina fuscipes fuscipes (Gff). We conducted a genome-wide association (GWA)
analysis with field-caught Gff. To increase statistical power, we first improved the Gff genome assembly with
whole genome 10X Chromium sequencing, used ddRAD-seq to identify autosomal versus sex-chromosomal
regions of the genome with data from 96,965 SNPs, and conducted a GWA with a subset of 50,960 autosomal
SNPs from 351 flies. Results assigned a full third of the genome to the sex chromosome, suggested possible
sex-chromosome aneuploidy in Gff, and identified a single autosomal SNP to be highly associated with
trypanosome infection. The top SNP was ~ 1200 bp upstream of the gene lecithin cholesterol acyltransferase
(LCAT), an important component of the molecular pathway that initiates trypanosome lysis and protection in
mammals. Results indicate that variation upstream of LCAT and/or linked genetic elements are associated with
trypanosome infection susceptibility in Gff. This suggests that there may be naturally occurring genetic
variation in Gff that can protect against trypanosome infection, thereby paving the way for targeted research
into novel vector control strategies that can promote parasite resistance in natural populations.
Description
Keywords
ddRAD, Trypanosomiasis, Vector, Genome wide association, GWAS, Population genomics, Muller elements, Chromosome arms, Aneuploidy
Citation
Saarman, N., Son, J. H., Zhao, H., Cosme, L., Kong, Y., Li, M., ... & Caccone, A. (2022). Genome-wide association of trypanosome infection status in the tsetse fly Glossina fuscipes, the major vector of African trypanosomiasis in Uganda. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-1685795/v1