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Avila Cartes J, Bonizzoni P, Ciccolella S, Della Vedova G, Denti L, Didelot X, Monti DC, Pirola Y. RecGraph: recombination-aware alignment of sequences to variation graphs. Bioinformatics 2024; 40:btae292. [PMID: 38676570 PMCID: PMC11256948 DOI: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btae292] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2023] [Revised: 02/23/2024] [Accepted: 04/25/2024] [Indexed: 04/29/2024] Open
Abstract
MOTIVATION Bacterial genomes present more variability than human genomes, which requires important adjustments in computational tools that are developed for human data. In particular, bacteria exhibit a mosaic structure due to homologous recombinations, but this fact is not sufficiently captured by standard read mappers that align against linear reference genomes. The recent introduction of pangenomics provides some insights in that context, as a pangenome graph can represent the variability within a species. However, the concept of sequence-to-graph alignment that captures the presence of recombinations has not been previously investigated. RESULTS In this paper, we present the extension of the notion of sequence-to-graph alignment to a variation graph that incorporates a recombination, so that the latter are explicitly represented and evaluated in an alignment. Moreover, we present a dynamic programming approach for the special case where there is at most a recombination-we implement this case as RecGraph. From a modelling point of view, a recombination corresponds to identifying a new path of the variation graph, where the new arc is composed of two halves, each extracted from an original path, possibly joined by a new arc. Our experiments show that RecGraph accurately aligns simulated recombinant bacterial sequences that have at most a recombination, providing evidence for the presence of recombination events. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION Our implementation is open source and available at https://github.com/AlgoLab/RecGraph.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jorge Avila Cartes
- Department of Informatics, Systems and Communication, University of Milano – Bicocca. Viale Sarca 336, Milano 20126, Italy
| | - Paola Bonizzoni
- Department of Informatics, Systems and Communication, University of Milano – Bicocca. Viale Sarca 336, Milano 20126, Italy
| | - Simone Ciccolella
- Department of Informatics, Systems and Communication, University of Milano – Bicocca. Viale Sarca 336, Milano 20126, Italy
| | - Gianluca Della Vedova
- Department of Informatics, Systems and Communication, University of Milano – Bicocca. Viale Sarca 336, Milano 20126, Italy
| | - Luca Denti
- Department of Informatics, Systems and Communication, University of Milano – Bicocca. Viale Sarca 336, Milano 20126, Italy
| | - Xavier Didelot
- Department of Statistics and School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, United Kingdom
| | - Davide Cesare Monti
- Department of Informatics, Systems and Communication, University of Milano – Bicocca. Viale Sarca 336, Milano 20126, Italy
| | - Yuri Pirola
- Department of Informatics, Systems and Communication, University of Milano – Bicocca. Viale Sarca 336, Milano 20126, Italy
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Letcher B, Maciuca S, Iqbal Z. Role for gene conversion in the evolution of cell-surface antigens of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. PLoS Biol 2024; 22:e3002507. [PMID: 38451924 PMCID: PMC10919680 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002507] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2023] [Accepted: 01/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/09/2024] Open
Abstract
While the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum has low average genome-wide diversity levels, likely due to its recent introduction from a gorilla-infecting ancestor (approximately 10,000 to 50,000 years ago), some genes display extremely high diversity levels. In particular, certain proteins expressed on the surface of human red blood cell-infecting merozoites (merozoite surface proteins (MSPs)) possess exactly 2 deeply diverged lineages that have seemingly not recombined. While of considerable interest, the evolutionary origin of this phenomenon remains unknown. In this study, we analysed the genetic diversity of 2 of the most variable MSPs, DBLMSP and DBLMSP2, which are paralogs (descended from an ancestral duplication). Despite thousands of available Illumina WGS datasets from malaria-endemic countries, diversity in these genes has been hard to characterise as reads containing highly diverged alleles completely fail to align to the reference genome. To solve this, we developed a pipeline leveraging genome graphs, enabling us to genotype them at high accuracy and completeness. Using our newly- resolved sequences, we found that both genes exhibit 2 deeply diverged lineages in a specific protein domain (DBL) and that one of the 2 lineages is shared across the genes. We identified clear evidence of nonallelic gene conversion between the 2 genes as the likely mechanism behind sharing, leading us to propose that gene conversion between diverged paralogs, and not recombination suppression, can generate this surprising genealogy; a model that is furthermore consistent with high diversity levels in these 2 genes despite the strong historical P. falciparum transmission bottleneck.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brice Letcher
- EMBL-EBI, Hinxton, United Kingdom
- Laboratory of Biology and Modelling of the Cell, CNRS UMR 5239, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Lyon, France
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Xu J, Li L, Ren J, Zhong X, Xie C, Zheng A, Abudukadier A, Tuerxun M, Zhang S, Tang L, Hairoula D, Zou X. Whole-Exome Sequencing Implicates the USP34 rs777591A > G Intron Variant in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in a Kashi Cohort. Front Cell Dev Biol 2022; 9:792027. [PMID: 35198563 PMCID: PMC8859106 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2021.792027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2021] [Accepted: 12/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Genetic factors are important factors in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) onset. Plenty of risk and new causative genes for COPD have been identified in patients of the Chinese Han population. In contrast, we know considerably little concerning the genetics in the Kashi COPD population (Uyghur). This study aims at clarifying the genetic maps regarding COPD susceptibility in Kashi (China). Whole-exome sequencing (WES) was used to analyze three Uyghur families with COPD in Kashi (eight patients and one healthy control). Sanger sequencing was also used to verify the WES results in 541 unrelated Uyghur COPD patients and 534 Uyghur healthy controls. WES showed 72 single nucleotide variants (SNVs), two deletions, and small insertions (InDels), 26 copy number variants (CNVs), and 34 structural variants (SVs), including g.71230620T > A (rs12449210T > A, NC_000,016.10) in the HYDIN axonemal central pair apparatus protein (HYDIN) gene and g.61190482A > G (rs777591A > G, NC_000002.12) in the ubiquitin-specific protease 34 (USP34) gene. After Sanger sequencing, we found that rs777591“AA” under different genetic models except for the dominant model (adjusted OR = 0.8559, 95%CI 0.6568–1.115, p > .05), could significantly reduce COPD risk, but rs12449210T > A was not related to COPD. In stratified analysis of smoking status, rs777591“AA” reduced COPD risk significantly among the nonsmoker group. Protein and mRNA expression of USP34 in cigarette smoke extract-treated BEAS-2b cells increased significantly compared with those in the control group. Our findings associate the USP34 rs777591“AA” genotype as a protector factor in COPD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingran Xu
- Department of Medical College, Shihezi University, Shihezi, China
| | - Li Li
- Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, First People’s Hospital of Kashi, Kashi, China
| | - Jie Ren
- Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, First People’s Hospital of Kashi, Kashi, China
| | - Xuemei Zhong
- Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, First People’s Hospital of Kashi, Kashi, China
| | - Chengxin Xie
- Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, First People’s Hospital of Kashi, Kashi, China
| | - Aifang Zheng
- Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, First People’s Hospital of Kashi, Kashi, China
| | - Ayiguzali Abudukadier
- Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, First People’s Hospital of Kashi, Kashi, China
| | - Maimaitiaili Tuerxun
- Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, First People’s Hospital of Kashi, Kashi, China
| | - Sujie Zhang
- Department of Medical College, Shihezi University, Shihezi, China
| | - Lifeng Tang
- Department of Medical College, Shihezi University, Shihezi, China
- Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, First People’s Hospital of Kashi, Kashi, China
| | - Dilare Hairoula
- Department of Medical College, Shihezi University, Shihezi, China
- Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, First People’s Hospital of Kashi, Kashi, China
| | - Xiaoguang Zou
- Department of Medical College, Shihezi University, Shihezi, China
- Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, First People’s Hospital of Kashi, Kashi, China
- *Correspondence: Xiaoguang Zou,
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Campbell CR, Tiley GP, Poelstra JW, Hunnicutt KE, Larsen PA, Lee HJ, Thorne JL, Dos Reis M, Yoder AD. Pedigree-based and phylogenetic methods support surprising patterns of mutation rate and spectrum in the gray mouse lemur. Heredity (Edinb) 2021; 127:233-244. [PMID: 34272504 PMCID: PMC8322134 DOI: 10.1038/s41437-021-00446-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2020] [Revised: 05/25/2021] [Accepted: 05/26/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Mutations are the raw material on which evolution acts, and knowledge of their frequency and genomic distribution is crucial for understanding how evolution operates at both long and short timescales. At present, the rate and spectrum of de novo mutations have been directly characterized in relatively few lineages. Our study provides the first direct mutation-rate estimate for a strepsirrhine (i.e., the lemurs and lorises), which comprises nearly half of the primate clade. Using high-coverage linked-read sequencing for a focal quartet of gray mouse lemurs (Microcebus murinus), we estimated the mutation rate to be among the highest calculated for a mammal at 1.52 × 10-8 (95% credible interval: 1.28 × 10-8-1.78 × 10-8) mutations/site/generation. Further, we found an unexpectedly low count of paternal mutations, and only a modest overrepresentation of mutations at CpG sites. Despite the surprising nature of these results, we found both the rate and spectrum to be robust to the manipulation of a wide range of computational filtering criteria. We also sequenced a technical replicate to estimate a false-negative and false-positive rate for our data and show that any point estimate of a de novo mutation rate should be considered with a large degree of uncertainty. For validation, we conducted an independent analysis of context-dependent substitution types for gray mouse lemur and five additional primate species for which de novo mutation rates have also been estimated. These comparisons revealed general consistency of the mutation spectrum between the pedigree-based and the substitution-rate analyses for all species compared.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Ryan Campbell
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | | | | | - Kelsie E Hunnicutt
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Denver, Denver, CO, USA
| | - Peter A Larsen
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA
| | - Hui-Jie Lee
- Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Jeffrey L Thorne
- Bioinformatics Research Center, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - Mario Dos Reis
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Anne D Yoder
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
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Yoder AD, Tiley GP. The challenge and promise of estimating the de novo mutation rate from whole-genome comparisons among closely related individuals. Mol Ecol 2021; 30:6087-6100. [PMID: 34062029 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2021] [Revised: 04/22/2021] [Accepted: 05/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Germline mutations are the raw material for natural selection, driving species evolution and the generation of earth's biodiversity. Without this driver of genetic diversity, life on earth would stagnate. Yet, it is a double-edged sword. An excess of mutations can have devastating effects on fitness and population viability. It is therefore one of the great challenges of molecular ecology to determine the rate and mechanisms by which these mutations accrue across the tree of life. Advances in high-throughput sequencing technologies are providing new opportunities for characterizing the rates and mutational spectra within species and populations thus informing essential evolutionary parameters such as the timing of speciation events, the intricacies of historical demography, and the degree to which lineages are subject to the burdens of mutational load. Here, we will focus on both the challenge and promise of whole-genome comparisons among parents and their offspring from known pedigrees for the detection of germline mutations as they arise in a single generation. The potential of these studies is high, but the field is still in its infancy and much uncertainty remains. Namely, the technical challenges are daunting given that pedigree-based genome comparisons are essentially searching for needles in a haystack given the very low signal to noise ratio. Despite the challenges, we predict that rapidly developing methods for whole-genome comparisons hold great promise for integrating empirically derived estimates of de novo mutation rates and mutation spectra across many molecular ecological applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne D Yoder
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
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Dousti M, Manzano-Román R, Rashidi S, Barzegar G, Ahmadpour NB, Mohammadi A, Hatam G. A proteomic glimpse into the effect of antimalarial drugs on Plasmodium falciparum proteome towards highlighting possible therapeutic targets. Pathog Dis 2021; 79:ftaa071. [PMID: 33202000 DOI: 10.1093/femspd/ftaa071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2020] [Accepted: 11/13/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
There is no effective vaccine against malaria; therefore, chemotherapy is to date the only choice to fight against this infectious disease. However, there is growing evidences of drug-resistance mechanisms in malaria treatments. Therefore, the identification of new drug targets is an urgent need for the clinical management of the disease. Proteomic approaches offer the chance of determining the effects of antimalarial drugs on the proteome of Plasmodium parasites. Accordingly, we reviewed the effects of antimalarial drugs on the Plasmodium falciparum proteome pointing out the relevance of several proteins as possible drug targets in malaria treatment. In addition, some of the P. falciparum stage-specific altered proteins and parasite-host interactions might play important roles in pathogenicity, survival, invasion and metabolic pathways and thus serve as potential sources of drug targets. In this review, we have identified several proteins, including thioredoxin reductase, helicases, peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase, endoplasmic reticulum-resident calcium-binding protein, choline/ethanolamine phosphotransferase, purine nucleoside phosphorylase, apical membrane antigen 1, glutamate dehydrogenase, hypoxanthine guanine phosphoribosyl transferase, heat shock protein 70x, knob-associated histidine-rich protein and erythrocyte membrane protein 1, as promising antimalarial drugs targets. Overall, proteomic approaches are able to partially facilitate finding possible drug targets. However, the integration of other 'omics' and specific pharmaceutical techniques with proteomics may increase the therapeutic properties of the critical proteins identified in the P. falciparum proteome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Majid Dousti
- Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Raúl Manzano-Román
- Proteomics Unit, Cancer Research Centre (IBMCC/CSIC/USAL/IBSAL), 37007, Salamanca, Spain
| | - Sajad Rashidi
- Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Gholamreza Barzegar
- Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | | | - Alireza Mohammadi
- Department of Disease Control, Komijan Treatment and Health Network, Arak University of Medical Science, Iran
| | - Gholamreza Hatam
- Basic Sciences in Infectious Diseases Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
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Windle ST, Lane KD, Gadalla NB, Liu A, Mu J, Caleon RL, Rahman RS, Sá JM, Wellems TE. Evidence for linkage of pfmdr1, pfcrt, and pfk13 polymorphisms to lumefantrine and mefloquine susceptibilities in a Plasmodium falciparum cross. Int J Parasitol Drugs Drug Resist 2020; 14:208-217. [PMID: 33197753 PMCID: PMC7677662 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpddr.2020.10.009] [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] [Received: 07/09/2020] [Revised: 10/21/2020] [Accepted: 10/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Lumefantrine and mefloquine are used worldwide in artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) of malaria. Better understanding of drug susceptibility and resistance is needed and can be obtained from studies of genetic crosses. METHODS Drug response phenotypes of a cross between Plasmodium falciparum lines 803 (Cambodia) and GB4 (Ghana) were obtained as half-maximal effective concentrations (EC50s) and days to recovery (DTR) after 24 h exposure to 500 nM lumefantrine. EC50s of mefloquine, halofantrine, chloroquine, and dihydroartemisinin were also determined. Quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis and statistical tests with candidate genes were used to identify polymorphisms associated with response phenotypes. RESULTS Lumefantrine EC50s averaged 5.8-fold higher for the 803 than GB4 parent, and DTR results were 3-5 and 16-18 days, respectively. In 803 × GB4 progeny, outcomes of these two lumefantrine assays showed strong inverse correlation; these phenotypes also correlated strongly with mefloquine and halofantrine EC50s. By QTL analysis, lumefantrine and mefloquine phenotypes mapped to a chromosome 5 region containing codon polymorphisms N86Y and Y184F in the P. falciparum multidrug resistance 1 protein (PfMDR1). Statistical tests of candidate genes identified correlations between inheritance of PfK13 Kelch protein polymorphism C580Y (and possibly K189T) and lumefantrine and mefloquine susceptibilities. Correlations were detected between lumefantrine and chloroquine EC50s and polymorphisms N326S and I356T in the CVIET-type P. falciparum chloroquine resistance transporter (PfCRT) common to 803 and GB4. CONCLUSIONS Correlations in this study suggest common mechanisms of action in lumefantrine, mefloquine, and halofantrine responses. PfK13 as well as PfMDR1 and PfCRT polymorphisms may affect access and/or action of these arylaminoalcohol drugs at locations of hemoglobin digestion and heme metabolism. In endemic regions, pressure from use of lumefantrine or mefloquine in ACTs may drive selection of PfK13 polymorphisms along with versions of PfMDR1 and PfCRT associated with lower susceptibility to these drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sean T Windle
- Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Kristin D Lane
- Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Nahla B Gadalla
- Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Anna Liu
- Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Jianbing Mu
- Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Ramoncito L Caleon
- Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Rifat S Rahman
- Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Juliana M Sá
- Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Thomas E Wellems
- Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, 20892, USA.
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