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Ribeiro Dos Santos A, Misas E, Min B, Le N, Bagal UR, Parnell LA, Sexton DJ, Lockhart SR, de Souza Carvalho Melhem M, Takahashi JPF, Oliboni GM, Bonfieti LX, Cappellano P, Sampaio JLM, Araujo LS, Alves Filho HL, Venturini J, Chiller TM, Litvintseva AP, Chow NA. Emergence of zoonotic sporotrichosis in Brazil: a genomic epidemiology study. Lancet Microbe 2024; 5:e282-e290. [PMID: 38432234 DOI: 10.1016/s2666-5247(23)00364-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2023] [Revised: 10/20/2023] [Accepted: 10/27/2023] [Indexed: 03/05/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Zoonotic sporotrichosis is a neglected fungal disease, whereby outbreaks are primarily driven by Sporothrix brasiliensis and linked to cat-to-human transmission. To understand the emergence and spread of sporotrichosis in Brazil, the epicentre of the current epidemic in South America, we aimed to conduct whole-genome sequencing (WGS) to describe the genomic epidemiology. METHODS In this genomic epidemiology study, we included Sporothrix spp isolates from sporotrichosis cases from Brazil, Colombia, and the USA. We conducted WGS using Illumina NovaSeq on isolates collected by three laboratories in Brazil from humans and cats with sporotrichosis between 2013 and 2022. All isolates that were confirmed to be Sporothrix genus by internal transcribed spacer or beta-tubulin PCR sequencing were included in this study. We downloaded eight Sporothrix genome sequences from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (six from Brazil, two from Colombia). Three Sporothrix spp genome sequences from the USA were generated by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as part of this study. We did phylogenetic analyses and correlated geographical and temporal case distribution with genotypic features of Sporothrix spp isolates. FINDINGS 72 Sporothrix spp isolates from 55 human and 17 animal sporotrichosis cases were included: 67 (93%) were from Brazil, two (3%) from Colombia, and three (4%) from the USA. Cases spanned from 1999 to 2022. Most (61 [85%]) isolates were S brasiliensis, and all were reported from Brazil. Ten (14%) were Sporothrix schenckii and were reported from Brazil, USA, and Colombia. For S schenckii isolates, two distinct clades were observed wherein isolates clustered by geography. For S brasiliensis isolates, five clades separated by more than 100 000 single-nucleotide polymorphisms were observed. Among the five S brasiliensis clades, clades A and C contained isolates from both human and cat cases, and clade A contained isolates from six different states in Brazil. Compared with S brasiliensis isolates, larger genetic diversity was observed among S schenckii isolates from animal and human cases within a clade. INTERPRETATION Our results suggest that the ongoing epidemic driven by S brasiliensis in Brazil represents several, independent emergence events followed by animal-to-animal and animal-to human transmission within and between Brazilian states. These results describe how S brasiliensis can emerge and spread within a country. FUNDING Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, Brazil; the São Paulo Research Foundation; Productivity in Research fellowships by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development, and Ministry of Science and Technology of Brazil.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda Ribeiro Dos Santos
- Mycotic Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA; School of Medicine, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grande, Brazil
| | - Elizabeth Misas
- Mycotic Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Brian Min
- Mycotic Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Ngoc Le
- Mycotic Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Ujwal R Bagal
- Mycotic Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Lindsay A Parnell
- Mycotic Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - D Joseph Sexton
- Mycotic Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Shawn R Lockhart
- Mycotic Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Marcia de Souza Carvalho Melhem
- School of Medicine, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grande, Brazil; Parasitology and Mycology Center, Instituto Adolfo Lutz, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Juliana Possatto Fernandes Takahashi
- School of Medicine, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grande, Brazil; Parasitology and Mycology Center, Instituto Adolfo Lutz, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Gabriel Manzi Oliboni
- Coordenadoria de Controle de Doenças, Secretaria de Estado de Saúde, São Paulo, Brazil
| | | | | | | | - Lisandra Siufi Araujo
- School of Medicine, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grande, Brazil; Central Public Health Laboratory of Mato Grosso do Sul, Secretaria de Estado de Saúde de Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grande, Brazil
| | | | - James Venturini
- School of Medicine, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grande, Brazil
| | - Tom M Chiller
- Mycotic Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | | | - Nancy A Chow
- Mycotic Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.
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Mario-Vasquez JE, Bagal UR, Lowe E, Morgulis A, Phan J, Sexton DJ, Shiryev S, Slatkevičius R, Welsh R, Litvintseva AP, Blumberg M, Agarwala R, Chow NA. Finding Candida auris in public metagenomic repositories. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0291406. [PMID: 38241320 PMCID: PMC10798454 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0291406] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2023] [Accepted: 01/04/2024] [Indexed: 01/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Candida auris is a newly emerged multidrug-resistant fungus capable of causing invasive infections with high mortality. Despite intense efforts to understand how this pathogen rapidly emerged and spread worldwide, its environmental reservoirs are poorly understood. Here, we present a collaborative effort between the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Center for Biotechnology Information, and GridRepublic (a volunteer computing platform) to identify C. auris sequences in publicly available metagenomic datasets. We developed the MetaNISH pipeline that uses SRPRISM to align sequences to a set of reference genomes and computes a score for each reference genome. We used MetaNISH to scan ~300,000 SRA metagenomic runs from 2010 onwards and identified five datasets containing C. auris reads. Finally, GridRepublic has implemented a prospective C. auris molecular monitoring system using MetaNISH and volunteer computing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jorge E. Mario-Vasquez
- Mycotic Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
| | | | - Elijah Lowe
- General Dynamics Information Technology Inc., Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Aleksandr Morgulis
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America
| | - John Phan
- General Dynamics Information Technology Inc., Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
| | - D. Joseph Sexton
- Mycotic Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Sergey Shiryev
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America
| | | | - Rory Welsh
- Mycotic Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Anastasia P. Litvintseva
- Mycotic Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Matthew Blumberg
- GridRepublic, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Richa Agarwala
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Nancy A. Chow
- Mycotic Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
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Bagal UR, Gade L, Benedict K, Howell V, Christophe N, Gibbons-Burgener S, Hallyburton S, Ireland M, McCracken S, Metobo AK, Signs K, Warren KA, Litvintseva AP, Chow NA. A Phylogeographic Description of Histoplasma capsulatum in the United States. J Fungi (Basel) 2023; 9:884. [PMID: 37754992 PMCID: PMC10532573 DOI: 10.3390/jof9090884] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2023] [Revised: 08/23/2023] [Accepted: 08/24/2023] [Indexed: 09/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Histoplasmosis is one of the most under-diagnosed and under-reported endemic mycoses in the United States. Histoplasma capsulatum is the causative agent of this disease. To date, molecular epidemiologic studies detailing the phylogeographic structure of H. capsulatum in the United States have been limited. We conducted genomic sequencing using isolates from histoplasmosis cases reported in the United States. We identified North American Clade 2 (NAm2) as the most prevalent clade in the country. Despite high intra-clade diversity, isolates from Minnesota and Michigan cases were predominately clustered by state. Future work incorporating environmental sampling and veterinary surveillance may further elucidate the molecular epidemiology of H. capsulatum in the United States and how genomic sequencing can be applied to the surveillance and outbreak investigation of histoplasmosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ujwal R. Bagal
- Mycotic Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA
- ASRT Inc., Atlanta, GA 30080, USA
| | - Lalitha Gade
- Mycotic Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA
| | - Kaitlin Benedict
- Mycotic Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA
| | - Victoria Howell
- Kentucky Department for Public Health, Frankfort, KY 40601, USA
| | | | | | | | - Malia Ireland
- Minnesota Department of Health, St. Paul, MN 55101, USA
| | | | | | - Kimberly Signs
- Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Lansing, MI 48933, USA
| | | | | | - Nancy A. Chow
- Mycotic Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA
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Litvintseva AP, Bakhiet S, Gade L, Wagner DD, Bagal UR, Batra D, Norris E, Rishishwar L, Beer KD, Siddig EE, Mhmoud NA, Chow NA, Fahal A. Genomics and metagenomics of Madurella mycetomatis, a causative agent of black grain mycetoma in Sudan. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2022; 16:e0010787. [PMID: 36322569 PMCID: PMC9629555 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0010787] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2022] [Accepted: 09/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Madurella mycetomatis is one of the main causative agents of mycetoma, a debilitating neglected tropical disease. Improved understanding of the genomic diversity of the fungal and bacterial causes of mycetoma is essential to advances in diagnosis and treatment. Here, we describe a high-quality genome assembly of M. mycetomatis and results of the whole genome sequence analysis of 26 isolates from Sudan. We demonstrate evidence of at least seven genetically diverse lineages and extreme clonality among isolates within these lineages. We also performed shotgun metagenomic analysis of DNA extracted from mycetoma grains and showed that M. mycetomatis reads were detected in all sequenced samples with the average of 11,317 reads (s.d. +/- 21,269) per sample. In addition, 10 (12%) of the 81 tested grain samples contained bacterial reads including Streptococcus sp., Staphylococcus sp. and others.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anastasia P. Litvintseva
- Mycotic Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Sahar Bakhiet
- The Mycetoma Research Centre, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan
| | - Lalitha Gade
- Mycotic Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
| | | | | | - Dhwani Batra
- Office of Advanced Molecular Detection, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Emily Norris
- Applied Bioinformatics Laboratory, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Lavanya Rishishwar
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Karlyn D. Beer
- Mycotic Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
| | | | - Najwa Adam Mhmoud
- The Mycetoma Research Centre, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan
| | - Nancy A. Chow
- Mycotic Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Ahmed Fahal
- The Mycetoma Research Centre, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan
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Mishra R, Hua G, Bagal UR, Champagne DE, Adang MJ. Anopheles gambiae strain (Ag55) cultured cells originated from Anopheles coluzzii and are phagocytic with hemocyte-like gene expression. Insect Sci 2022; 29:1346-1360. [PMID: 35358364 DOI: 10.1111/1744-7917.13036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2021] [Revised: 02/21/2022] [Accepted: 03/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles coluzzii are closely related species that are predominant vectors of malaria in Africa. Recently, A. gambiae form M was renamed A. coluzzii and we now conclude on the basis of a diagnostic PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism assay that Ag55 cells were derived from A. coluzzii. We established an Ag55 cell transcriptome, and KEGG pathway analysis showed that Ag55 cells are enriched in phagosome pathway transcripts. The Ag55 transcriptome has an abundance of specific transcripts characteristic of mosquito hemocytes. Functional E. coli bioparticle uptake experiments visualized by fluorescence microscopy and confocal microscopy and quantified by flow cytometry establish the phagocytic competence of Ag55 cells. Results from this investigation of Ag55 cell properties will guide researchers in the use and engineering of the Ag55 cell line to better enable investigations of Plasmodium, other microbes, and insecticidal toxins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruchir Mishra
- Department of Entomology, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
- Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
| | - Gang Hua
- Department of Entomology, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
| | - Ujwal R Bagal
- Institute of Bioinformatics, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
| | - Donald E Champagne
- Department of Entomology, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
| | - Michael J Adang
- Department of Entomology, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
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Bagal UR, Ireland M, Gross A, Fischer J, Bentz M, Berkow EL, Litvintseva AP, Chow NA. Molecular Epidemiology of Blastomyces gilchristii Clusters, Minnesota, USA. Emerg Infect Dis 2022; 28:1924-1926. [PMID: 35997504 PMCID: PMC9423935 DOI: 10.3201/eid2809.220392] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
We characterized 2 clusters of blastomycosis cases in Minnesota, USA, using whole-genome sequencing and single-nucleotide polymorphism analyses. Blastomyces gilchristii was confirmed as the cause of infection. Genomic analyses corresponded with epidemiologic findings for cases of B. gilchristii infections, demonstrating the utility of genomic methods for future blastomycosis outbreak investigations.
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Bagal UR, Phan J, Welsh RM, Misas E, Wagner D, Gade L, Litvintseva AP, Cuomo CA, Chow NA. MycoSNP: A Portable Workflow for Performing Whole-Genome Sequencing Analysis of Candida auris. Methods Mol Biol 2022; 2517:215-228. [PMID: 35674957 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2417-3_17] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Candida auris is an urgent public health threat characterized by high drug-resistant rates and rapid spread in healthcare settings worldwide. As part of the C. auris response, molecular surveillance has helped public health officials track the global spread and investigate local outbreaks. Here, we describe whole-genome sequencing analysis methods used for routine C. auris molecular surveillance in the United States; methods include reference selection, reference preparation, quality assessment and control of sequencing reads, read alignment, and single-nucleotide polymorphism calling and filtration. We also describe the newly developed pipeline MycoSNP, a portable workflow for performing whole-genome sequencing analysis of fungal organisms including C. auris.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ujwal R Bagal
- Mycotic Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - John Phan
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Rory M Welsh
- Mycotic Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Elizabeth Misas
- Mycotic Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | | | - Lalitha Gade
- Mycotic Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | | | - Christina A Cuomo
- Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Nancy A Chow
- Mycotic Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.
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Rambo-Martin BL, Keller MW, Wilson MM, Nolting JM, Anderson TK, Vincent AL, Bagal UR, Jang Y, Neuhaus EB, Davis CT, Bowman AS, Wentworth DE, Barnes JR. Influenza A Virus Field Surveillance at a Swine-Human Interface. mSphere 2020; 5:e00822-19. [PMID: 32024713 PMCID: PMC7002310 DOI: 10.1128/msphere.00822-19] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2019] [Accepted: 01/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
While working overnight at a swine exhibition, we identified an influenza A virus (IAV) outbreak in swine, Nanopore sequenced 13 IAV genomes from samples we collected, and predicted in real time that these viruses posed a novel risk to humans due to genetic mismatches between the viruses and current prepandemic candidate vaccine viruses (CVVs). We developed and used a portable IAV sequencing and analysis platform called Mia (Mobile Influenza Analysis) to complete and characterize full-length consensus genomes approximately 18 h after unpacking the mobile lab. Exhibition swine are a known source for zoonotic transmission of IAV to humans and pose a potential pandemic risk. Genomic analyses of IAV in swine are critical to understanding this risk, the types of viruses circulating in swine, and whether current vaccines developed for use in humans would be predicted to provide immune protection. Nanopore sequencing technology has enabled genome sequencing in the field at the source of viral outbreaks or at the bedside or pen-side of infected humans and animals. The acquired data, however, have not yet demonstrated real-time, actionable public health responses. The Mia system rapidly identified three genetically distinct swine IAV lineages from three subtypes, A(H1N1), A(H3N2), and A(H1N2). Analysis of the hemagglutinin (HA) sequences of the A(H1N2) viruses identified >30 amino acid differences between the HA1 of these viruses and the most closely related CVV. As an exercise in pandemic preparedness, all sequences were emailed to CDC collaborators who initiated the development of a synthetically derived CVV.IMPORTANCE Swine are influenza virus reservoirs that have caused outbreaks and pandemics. Genomic characterization of these viruses enables pandemic risk assessment and vaccine comparisons, though this typically occurs after a novel swine virus jumps into humans. The greatest risk occurs where large groups of swine and humans comingle. At a large swine exhibition, we used Nanopore sequencing and on-site analytics to interpret 13 swine influenza virus genomes and identified an influenza virus cluster that was genetically highly varied to currently available vaccines. As part of the National Strategy for Pandemic Preparedness exercises, the sequences were emailed to colleagues at the CDC who initiated the development of a synthetically derived vaccine designed to match the viruses at the exhibition. Subsequently, this virus caused 14 infections in humans and was the dominant U.S. variant virus in 2018.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Matthew W Keller
- Oak Ridge Institute of Science and Education (ORISE), Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA
| | - Malania M Wilson
- Influenza Division, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Jacqueline M Nolting
- Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA
| | - Tavis K Anderson
- National Animal Disease Center, Agricultural Research Service (ARS), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Ames, Iowa, USA
| | - Amy L Vincent
- National Animal Disease Center, Agricultural Research Service (ARS), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Ames, Iowa, USA
| | | | - Yunho Jang
- Influenza Division, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Elizabeth B Neuhaus
- Influenza Division, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - C Todd Davis
- Influenza Division, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Andrew S Bowman
- Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA
| | - David E Wentworth
- Influenza Division, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - John R Barnes
- Influenza Division, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, Georgia, USA
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Warrier JS, Deshpande AK, Athavale PP, Bagal UR, Rajput M. Peripheral Pulse Morphology for Early Detection of Coronary Artery Disease. MGM Journal of Medical Sciences 2014. [DOI: 10.5005/jp-journals-10036-1019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
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Abstract
Background Phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) is a key enzyme of the phenylpropanoid pathway that catalyzes the deamination of phenylalanine to trans-cinnamic acid, a precursor for the lignin and flavonoid biosynthetic pathways. To date, PAL genes have been less extensively studied in gymnosperms than in angiosperms. Our interest in PAL genes stems from their potential role in the defense responses of Pinus taeda, especially with respect to lignification and production of low molecular weight phenolic compounds under various biotic and abiotic stimuli. In contrast to all angiosperms for which reference genome sequences are available, P. taeda has previously been characterized as having only a single PAL gene. Our objective was to re-evaluate this finding, assess the evolutionary history of PAL genes across major angiosperm and gymnosperm lineages, and characterize PAL gene expression patterns in Pinus taeda. Methods We compiled a large set of PAL genes from the largest transcript dataset available for P. taeda and other conifers. The transcript assemblies for P. taeda were validated through sequencing of PCR products amplified using gene-specific primers based on the putative PAL gene assemblies. Verified PAL gene sequences were aligned and a gene tree was estimated. The resulting gene tree was reconciled with a known species tree and the time points for gene duplication events were inferred relative to the divergence of major plant lineages. Results In contrast to angiosperms, gymnosperms have retained a diverse set of PAL genes distributed among three major clades that arose from gene duplication events predating the divergence of these two seed plant lineages. Whereas multiple PAL genes have been identified in sequenced angiosperm genomes, all characterized angiosperm PAL genes form a single clade in the gene PAL tree, suggesting they are derived from a single gene in an ancestral angiosperm genome. The five distinct PAL genes detected and verified in P. taeda were derived from a combination of duplication events predating and postdating the divergence of angiosperms and gymnosperms. Conclusions Gymnosperms have a more phylogenetically diverse set of PAL genes than angiosperms. This inference has contrasting implications for the evolution of PAL gene function in gymnosperms and angiosperms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ujwal R Bagal
- Institute of Bioinformatics, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602-7229, USA
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