Assembly of the genome of the disease vector Aedes aegypti onto a genetic linkage map allows mapping of genes affecting disease transmission
Autor(es): Juneja, Punita; Osei-Poku, Jewelna; Ho, Yung S.; Ariani, Cristina V.; Palmer, William J.; Pain, Arnab; Jiggins, Francis M.
Resumo: The mosquito Aedes aegypti transmits some of the most important human arboviruses, including dengue, yellow fever and chikungunya viruses. It has a large genome containing many repetitive sequences, which has resulted in the genome being poorly assembled - there are 4,758 scaffolds, few of which have been assigned to a chromosome. To allow the mapping of genes affecting disease transmission, we have improved the genome assembly by scoring a large number of SNPs in recombinant progeny from a cross between two strains of Ae. aegypti, and used these to generate a genetic map. This revealed a high rate of misassemblies in the current genome, where, for example, sequences from different chromosomes were found on the same scaffold. Once these were corrected, we were able to assign 60% of the genome sequence to chromosomes and approximately order the scaffolds along the chromosome. We found that there are very large regions of suppressed recombination around the centromeres, which can extend to as much as 47% of the chromosome. To illustrate the utility of this new genome assembly, we mapped a gene that makes Ae. aegypti resistant to the human parasite Brugia malayi, and generated a list of candidate genes that could be affecting the trait. Mosquitoes are important for transmission of human diseases including dengue and yellow fever. The sequencing of the genomes of key mosquito species including Aedes aegypti has helped us to understand the factors that allow mosquitoes to vector disease. While the genome for Ae. aegypti has been sequenced, it is in many pieces which have not yet been arranged on chromosomes. To this end, we have created a genetic linkage map and measured the distance between genetic markers, which allows us to assign them to regions of the genome. Using this method, we also detected errors in the current genome sequences. We used our genetic map to find regions of the mosquito genome associated with the development of Brugia malayi, a nematode that causes lymphatic filariasis in humans. A better genome assembly will be important for the development of novel methods for controlling disease transmission.
Palavras-Chave: Viruses; Pest control; Public health; Disease transmission; Parasites; Nucleotide sequence; Recombination; Dengue; Yellow fever; Genetic markers; Genetic crosses; Gene mapping
Imprenta: Plos Neglected Tropical Diseases, v. 8, n. 1, 2014.
Descritores: Aedes aegypti - Cell ; Aedes aegypti - Virus ; Aedes aegypti - Transmission ; Aedes aegypti - Chikungunya Fever ; Aedes aegypti - Dengue ; Aedes aegypti - Public health
Data de publicação: 2014
