Comparative Genomics of Microsporidia

Williams, Bryony A. P.; Williams, Tom A.; Trew, Jahcub

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-93306-7_2

Cited by 12 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 97 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The presence of polyploidy across the phylum is perplexing, as Microsporidia are obligate intracellular parasites. Such endoparasites have typically been found to have smaller and more compact genomes compared to their free-living counterparts across the tree of life [16,17,21,62]. Indeed, microsporidia have very small genomes, with Encephalitozoon romaleae having the smallest eukaryotic genome known, at only 2 Mb [63].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…More recently, many studies have targeted microsporidian genomes, and microsporidia have become a valuable model for studying the evolution of parasitism [10][11][12][13][14][15]. Microsporidia have the smallest eukaryotic genomes, having undergone extreme reduction, losing many metabolic pathways, such as glycolysis and lipid biosynthesis [11,[16][17][18][19][20][21] and lacking mitochondrial genomes because of reductive evolution of mitochondria to form mitosomes [22].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Polyploidy is widespread in Microsporidia

Khalaf,

Jaron,

Blaxter

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Microsporidia are obligate intracellular eukaryotic parasites with an extremely broad host range. They have both economic and public health importance. Ploidy in microsporidia is variable, with a few species formally identified as diploid and one as polyploid. Given the increase in the number of studies sequencing microsporidian genomes, it is now possible to assess ploidy levels across all currently-explored microsporidian diversity. We estimate ploidy for all microsporidian datasets available on the Sequence Read Archive (SRA) using k-mer-based analyses, and demonstrate that polyploidy is widespread in Microsporidia, and that ploidy change is dynamic in the group. Using genome-wide heterozygosity estimates, we also show that polyploid microsporidian genomes are relatively homozygous, and we discuss the implications of these findings on the timing of polyploidisation events and their origin.Author SummaryMicrosporidia are single-celled intracellular parasites, distantly related to fungi, that can infect a broad range of hosts, from humans all the way to protozoans. Exploiting the wealth of microsporidian genomic data available, we use k-mer based analyses to assess ploidy status across the group. Understanding a genome’s ploidy is crucial in order to assemble it effectively, and may also be relevant for better understanding a parasite’s behaviour and life cycle. We show that tetraploidy is present in at least six species in Microsporidia, and that these polyploidisation events are likely to have occurred independently. We discuss why these findings may be paradoxical, given that Microsporidia, like other intracellular parasites, have extremely small, reduced genomes.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Polyploidy is widespread in Microsporidia

Khalaf,

Jaron,

Blaxter

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Microsporidia rely on the host cells’ metabolism and organelles to facilitate obligate intracellular parasitic life cycles [ 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 ]. As a minimalist eukaryote, microsporidia lost numerous genes and several organelles during the adaption of parasitism [ 27 , 28 , 29 ]. The smart organism used a variety of strategies such as directly interacting with the cytoplasm of the host cell, transporting energy and metabolites from the host, and secreting molecules to regulate the host cell [ 1 , 4 , 26 , 30 , 31 , 32 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heterologous Expressed NbSWP12 from Microsporidia Nosema bombycis Can Bind with Phosphatidylinositol 3-Phosphate and Affect Vesicle Genesis

Chen

Sheng

et al. 2022

JoF

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Microsporidia are a big group of single-celled obligate intracellular organisms infecting most animals and some protozoans. These minimalist eukaryotes lack numerous genes in metabolism and vesicle trafficking. Here, we demonstrated that the spore wall protein NbSWP12 of microsporidium Nosema bombycis belongs to Bin/Amphiphysin/Rvs (BAR) protein family and can specifically bind with phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate [Ptdlns(3)P]. Since Ptdlns(3)P is involved in endosomal vesicle biogenesis and trafficking, we heterologous expressed NbSWP12 in yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and proved that NbSWP12 can target the cell membrane and endocytic vesicles. Nbswp12 transformed into Gvp36 (a BAR protein of S. cerevisiae) deletion mutant rescued the defect phenotype of vesicular traffic. This study identified a BAR protein function in vesicle genesis and sorting and provided clues for further understanding of how microsporidia internalize nutrients and metabolites during proliferation.

show abstract

“…More recently, many studies have targeted microsporidian genomes, and microsporidia have become a valuable model for studying the evolution of parasitism ( 10 – 15 ). Microsporidia have the smallest eukaryotic genomes, having undergone extreme reduction, losing many metabolic pathways, such as glycolysis and lipid biosynthesis ( 11 , 16 – 19 ), and lacking mitochondrial genomes because of reductive evolution of mitochondria to form mitosomes ( 20 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Polyploidy is widespread in Microsporidia

Khalaf,

Lawniczak,

Blaxter

et al. 2024

Microbiol Spectr

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Microsporidia are obligate intracellular eukaryotic parasites with an extremely broad host range. They have both economic and public health importance. Ploidy in microsporidia is variable, with a few species formally identified as diploid and one as polyploid. Given the increase in the number of studies sequencing microsporidian genomes, it is now possible to assess ploidy levels across all currently explored microsporidian diversity. We estimate ploidy for all microsporidian data sets available on the Sequence Read Archive using k-mer-based analyses, indicating that polyploidy is widespread in Microsporidia and that ploidy change is dynamic in the group. Using genome-wide heterozygosity estimates, we also show that polyploid microsporidian genomes are relatively homozygous, and we discuss the implications of these findings on the timing of polyploidization events and their origin. IMPORTANCE Microsporidia are single-celled intracellular parasites, distantly related to fungi, that can infect a broad range of hosts, from humans all the way to protozoans. Exploiting the wealth of microsporidian genomic data available, we use k-mer-based analyses to assess ploidy status across the group. Understanding a genome’s ploidy is crucial in order to assemble it effectively and may also be relevant for better understanding a parasite’s behavior and life cycle. We show that tetraploidy is present in at least six species in Microsporidia and that these polyploidization events are likely to have occurred independently. We discuss why these findings may be paradoxical, given that Microsporidia, like other intracellular parasites, have extremely small, reduced genomes.

show abstract

Comparative Genomics of Microsporidia

Cited by 12 publications

References 97 publications

Polyploidy is widespread in Microsporidia

Polyploidy is widespread in Microsporidia

Heterologous Expressed NbSWP12 from Microsporidia Nosema bombycis Can Bind with Phosphatidylinositol 3-Phosphate and Affect Vesicle Genesis

Polyploidy is widespread in Microsporidia

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About