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Haikukutu L, Lyaku JR, Lyimo CM, Eiseb SJ, Makundi RH, Olayemi A, Wilhelm K, Müller-Klein N, Schmid DW, Fleischer R, Sommer S. Immunogenetics, sylvatic plague and its vectors: insights from the pathogen reservoir Mastomys natalensis in Tanzania. Immunogenetics 2023; 75:517-530. [PMID: 37853246 PMCID: PMC10651713 DOI: 10.1007/s00251-023-01323-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2023] [Accepted: 10/08/2023] [Indexed: 10/20/2023]
Abstract
Yersinia pestis is a historically important vector-borne pathogen causing plague in humans and other mammals. Contemporary zoonotic infections with Y. pestis still occur in sub-Saharan Africa, including Tanzania and Madagascar, but receive relatively little attention. Thus, the role of wildlife reservoirs in maintaining sylvatic plague and spillover risks to humans is largely unknown. The multimammate rodent Mastomys natalensis is the most abundant and widespread rodent in peri-domestic areas in Tanzania, where it plays a major role as a Y. pestis reservoir in endemic foci. Yet, how M. natalensis' immunogenetics contributes to the maintenance of plague has not been investigated to date. Here, we surveyed wild M. natalensis for Y. pestis vectors, i.e., fleas, and tested for the presence of antibodies against Y. pestis using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) in areas known to be endemic or without previous records of Y. pestis in Tanzania. We characterized the allelic and functional (i.e., supertype) diversity of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC class II) of M. natalensis and investigated links to Y. pestis vectors and infections. We detected antibodies against Y. pestis in rodents inhabiting both endemic areas and areas considered non-endemic. Of the 111 nucleotide MHC alleles, only DRB*016 was associated with an increased infestation with the flea Xenopsylla. Surprisingly, we found no link between MHC alleles or supertypes and antibodies of Y. pestis. Our findings hint, however, at local adaptations towards Y. pestis vectors, an observation that more exhaustive sampling could unwind in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lavinia Haikukutu
- Department of Wildlife Management, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania.
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
- Africa Centre of Excellence for Innovative Rodent Pest Management and Biosensor Technology Development, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania.
| | - Japhet R Lyaku
- Department of Paraclinical Studies, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia
| | - Charles M Lyimo
- Department of Animal, Aquaculture and Range Sciences, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Chuo Kikuu, Morogoro, Tanzania
| | - Seth J Eiseb
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia
| | - Rhodes H Makundi
- Africa Centre of Excellence for Innovative Rodent Pest Management and Biosensor Technology Development, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania
| | - Ayodeji Olayemi
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
- Natural History Museum, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Osun State, Nigeria
| | - Kerstin Wilhelm
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
| | - Nadine Müller-Klein
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
| | - Dominik W Schmid
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
| | - Ramona Fleischer
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
| | - Simone Sommer
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
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Scherman K, Råberg L, Westerdahl H. Borrelia Infection in Bank Voles Myodes glareolus Is Associated With Specific DQB Haplotypes Which Affect Allelic Divergence Within Individuals. Front Immunol 2021; 12:703025. [PMID: 34381454 PMCID: PMC8350566 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.703025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2021] [Accepted: 07/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The high polymorphism of Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) genes is generally considered to be a result of pathogen-mediated balancing selection. Such selection may operate in the form of heterozygote advantage, and/or through specific MHC allele–pathogen interactions. Specific MHC allele–pathogen interactions may promote polymorphism via negative frequency-dependent selection (NFDS), or selection that varies in time and/or space because of variability in the composition of the pathogen community (fluctuating selection; FS). In addition, divergent allele advantage (DAA) may act on top of these forms of balancing selection, explaining the high sequence divergence between MHC alleles. DAA has primarily been thought of as an extension of heterozygote advantage. However, DAA could also work in concert with NFDS though this is yet to be tested explicitly. To evaluate the importance of DAA in pathogen-mediated balancing selection, we surveyed allelic polymorphism of MHC class II DQB genes in wild bank voles (Myodes glareolus) and tested for associations between DQB haplotypes and infection by Borrelia afzelii, a tick-transmitted bacterium causing Lyme disease in humans. We found two significant associations between DQB haplotypes and infection status: one haplotype was associated with lower risk of infection (resistance), while another was associated with higher risk of infection (susceptibility). Interestingly, allelic divergence within individuals was higher for voles with the resistance haplotype compared to other voles. In contrast, allelic divergence was lower for voles with the susceptibility haplotype than other voles. The pattern of higher allelic divergence in individuals with the resistance haplotype is consistent with NFDS favouring divergent alleles in a natural population, hence selection where DAA works in concert with NFDS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristin Scherman
- Molecular Ecology and Evolution Lab, Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Lars Råberg
- Functional Zoology, Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Helena Westerdahl
- Molecular Ecology and Evolution Lab, Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
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Nilsson P, Solbakken MH, Schmid BV, Orr RJS, Lv R, Cui Y, Song Y, Zhang Y, Baalsrud HT, Tørresen OK, Stenseth NC, Yang R, Jakobsen KS, Easterday WR, Jentoft S. The Genome of the Great Gerbil Reveals Species-Specific Duplication of an MHCII Gene. Genome Biol Evol 2020; 12:3832-3849. [PMID: 31971556 PMCID: PMC7046166 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evaa008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The great gerbil (Rhombomys opimus) is a social rodent living in permanent, complex burrow systems distributed throughout Central Asia, where it serves as the main host of several important vector-borne infectious pathogens including the well-known plague bacterium (Yersinia pestis). Here, we present a continuous annotated genome assembly of the great gerbil, covering over 96% of the estimated 2.47-Gb genome. Taking advantage of the recent genome assemblies of the sand rat (Psammomys obesus) and the Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus), comparative immunogenomic analyses reveal shared gene losses within TLR gene families (i.e., TLR8, TLR10, and the entire TLR11-subfamily) for Gerbillinae, accompanied with signs of diversifying selection of TLR7 and TLR9. Most notably, we find a great gerbil-specific duplication of the MHCII DRB locus. In silico analyses suggest that the duplicated gene provides high peptide binding affinity for Yersiniae epitopes as well as Leishmania and Leptospira epitopes, putatively leading to increased capability to withstand infections by these pathogens. Our study demonstrates the power of whole-genome sequencing combined with comparative genomic analyses to gain deeper insight into the immunogenomic landscape of the great gerbil and its close relatives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pernille Nilsson
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Norway
| | - Monica H Solbakken
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Norway
| | - Boris V Schmid
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Norway
| | | | - Ruichen Lv
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Yujun Cui
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Yajun Song
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Yujiang Zhang
- Xinjiang Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Urumqi, China
| | - Helle T Baalsrud
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Norway
| | - Ole K Tørresen
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Norway
| | - Nils Chr Stenseth
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Norway
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Earth System Modeling, Department of Earth System Science, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Ruifu Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Kjetill S Jakobsen
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Norway
| | - William Ryan Easterday
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Norway
| | - Sissel Jentoft
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Norway
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Russell RE, Tripp DW, Rocke TE. Differential plague susceptibility in species and populations of prairie dogs. Ecol Evol 2019; 9:11962-11971. [PMID: 31695901 PMCID: PMC6822031 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5684] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2019] [Revised: 08/28/2019] [Accepted: 09/02/2019] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Laboratory trials conducted over the past decade at U.S. Geological Survey National Wildlife Health Center indicate that wild populations of prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.) display different degrees of susceptibility to experimental challenge with fully virulent Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague. We evaluated patterns in prairie dog susceptibility to plague to determine whether the historical occurrence of plague at location of capture was related to survival times of prairie dogs challenged with Y. pestis. We found that black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) from South Dakota (captured prior to the detection of plague in the state), Gunnison's prairie dogs (Cynomys gunnisoni) from Colorado, and Utah prairie dogs (Cynomys parvidens) from Utah were most susceptible to plague. Though the susceptibility of black-tailed prairie dogs in South Dakota compared with western locations supports our hypothesis regarding historical exposure, both Colorado and Utah prairie dogs have a long history of exposure to plague. It is possible that for these populations, genetic isolation/bottle necks have made them more susceptible to plague outbreaks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robin E. Russell
- National Wildlife Health CenterU.S. Geological SurveyMadisonWIUSA
| | - Daniel W. Tripp
- Wildlife Health ProgramColorado Parks and WildlifeFort CollinsCOUSA
| | - Tonie E. Rocke
- National Wildlife Health CenterU.S. Geological SurveyMadisonWIUSA
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