Schwabl, P, Imamura, H, Van den Broeck, F, Costales, JA, Maiguashca-Sánchez, J, Miles, M, Andersson, B, Grijalva, MJ and Llewellyn, MS. 2019. Meiotic sex in Chagas disease parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. [Online]. Nature Communications. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-11771-z
Schwabl, P, Imamura, H, Van den Broeck, F, Costales, JA, Maiguashca-Sánchez, J, Miles, M, Andersson, B, Grijalva, MJ and Llewellyn, MS. Meiotic sex in Chagas disease parasite Trypanosoma cruzi [Internet]. Nature Communications; 2019. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-11771-z
Schwabl, P, Imamura, H, Van den Broeck, F, Costales, JA, Maiguashca-Sánchez, J, Miles, M, Andersson, B, Grijalva, MJ and Llewellyn, MS (2019). Meiotic sex in Chagas disease parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. [Data Collection]. Nature Communications. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-11771-z
Description
Genetic exchange enables parasites to rapidly transform disease phenotypes and exploit new host populations. Trypanosoma cruzi, the parasitic agent of Chagas disease and a public health concern throughout Latin America, has for decades been presumed to exchange genetic material rarely and without classic meiotic sex. We present compelling evidence from 45 genomes sequenced from southern Ecuador that T. cruzi in fact maintains truly sexual, panmictic groups that can occur alongside others that remain highly clonal after past hybridization events. These groups with divergent reproductive strategies appear genetically isolated despite possible co-occurrence in vectors and hosts. We propose biological explanations for the fine-scale disconnectivity we observe and discuss the epidemiological consequences of flexible reproductive modes. Our study reinvigorates the hunt for the site of genetic exchange in the T. cruzi life cycle, provides tools to define the genetic determinants of parasite virulence, and reforms longstanding theory on clonality in trypanosomatid parasites.
Data capture method | Experiment |
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Date (Date published in a 3rd party system) | 3 September 2019 |
Language(s) of written materials | English |
Data Creators | Schwabl, P, Imamura, H, Van den Broeck, F, Costales, JA, Maiguashca-Sánchez, J, Miles, M, Andersson, B, Grijalva, MJ and Llewellyn, MS |
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LSHTM Faculty/Department | Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases > Dept of Pathogen Molecular Biology |
Participating Institutions | London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine |
Date Deposited | 24 Sep 2019 12:11 |
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Last Modified | 08 Jul 2021 12:51 |
Publisher | Nature Communications |