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PMID: 18405380 Published · epublish English Comparative Study Journal Article Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

Consistent and contrasting properties of lineage-specific genes in the apicomplexan parasites Plasmodium and Theileria.

BMC evolutionary biology ·Vol. 8 ·2008-04-11 ·Pages 108

Kuo CH, Kissinger JC

Abstract

Lineage-specific genes, the genes that are restricted to a limited subset of related organisms, may be important in adaptation. In parasitic organisms, lineage-specific gene products are possible targets for vaccine development or therapeutics when these genes are absent from the host genome. In this study, we utilized comparative approaches based on a phylogenetic framework to characterize lineage-specific genes in the parasitic protozoan phylum Apicomplexa. Genes from species in two major apicomplexan genera, Plasmodium and Theileria, were categorized into six levels of lineage specificity based on a nine-species phylogeny. In both genera, lineage-specific genes tend to have a higher level of sequence divergence among sister species. In addition, species-specific genes possess a strong codon usage bias compared to other genes in the genome. We found that a large number of genus- or species-specific genes are putative surface antigens that may be involved in host-parasite interactions. Interestingly, the two parasite lineages exhibit several notable differences. In Plasmodium, the (G + C) content at the third codon position increases with lineage specificity while Theileria shows the opposite trend. Surface antigens in Plasmodium are species-specific and mainly located in sub-telomeric regions. In contrast, surface antigens in Theileria are conserved at the genus level and distributed across the entire lengths of chromosomes. Our results provide further support for the model that gene duplication followed by rapid divergence is a major mechanism for generating lineage-specific genes. The result that many lineage-specific genes are putative surface antigens supports the hypothesis that lineage-specific genes could be important in parasite adaptation. The contrasting properties between the lineage-specific genes in two major apicomplexan genera indicate that the mechanisms of generating lineage-specific genes and the subsequent evolutionary fates can differ between related parasite lineages. Future studies that focus on improving functional annotation of parasite genomes and collection of genetic variation data at within- and between-species levels will be important in facilitating our understanding of parasite adaptation and natural selection.

MeSH Terms
Amino Acid Sequence Animals Base Composition Base Sequence Chromosome Mapping Codon Evolution, Molecular Genes, Protozoan Genetic Speciation Genetic Variation Multigene Family Phylogeny Plasmodium/classification,genetics Plasmodium falciparum/genetics Theileria/classification,genetics Theileria annulata/genetics
Chemicals
Codon
Authors & Affiliations
2 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Kuo Chih-Horng
Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA. [email protected]
Kissinger Jessica C
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Article Info
Journal
BMC evolutionary biology
Abbr.
BMC Evol Biol
ISSN
1471-2148
DOI
10.1186/1471-2148-8-108
Email
[email protected]
Published
2008-04-11
Epub
2008-00-11
Pages
108
Language
English
Region
England
NLM ID
100966975
PMCID
PMC2330040
Subset
IM
Grants
NIAID NIH HHS · R01 AI068908 · United States
NIAID NIH HHS · R01 AI068908-01A2 · United States
NIGMS NIH HHS · GM07103 · United States
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1186/1471-2148-8-108 PMC Full Text View journal details
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