Syntenic relationship of chromosomes in Strongyloides species and Rhabditophanes diutinus based on the chromosome-level genome assemblies

Abstract

The Strongyloides clade, to which the parasitic nematode genus Strongyloides belongs, contains taxa with diverse lifestyles, ranging from free-living to obligate vertebrate parasites. Reproductive strategies are also diverse in this group of nematodes, employing not only sexual reproduction but also parthenogenesis, making it an attractive group to study genome adaptation to specific conditions. An in-depth understanding of genome evolution, however, has been hampered by fragmented genome assemblies. In this study, we generated chromosome-level genome assemblies for two Strongyloides species and the outgroup species Rhabditophanes diutinus using long-read sequencing and high‐throughput chromosome conformation capture (Hi-C). Our synteny analyses revealed a clearer picture of chromosome evolution in this group, suggesting that a functional sex chromosome has been maintained throughout the group. We further investigated sex chromosome dynamics in the lifecycle of Strongyloides ratti and found that bivalent formation in oocytes appears to be important for male production in the mitotic parthenogenesis. This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue ‘ Strongyloides : omics to worm-free populations’.

Strongyloides : omics to worm-free populations

“…A further advantage of Strongyloides spp. is the small size of the genome for members of this genus [25], Kounosu et al this issue [26]). Several species of Strongyloides can be maintained in the laboratory relatively easily, either in their natural hosts ( S. ratti and S. venezuelensis in rats [14]) or in permissive laboratory hosts ( S. papillosus in rabbits [27] and S. stercoralis in dogs or gerbils [17,28]).…”

“…They investigate the syntenic relationships and discuss the genome evolution in these species (Kounosu et al . [26]).…”