title: The landscape of inherited and de novo copy number variants in a Plasmodium falciparum genetic cross.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Copy number is a major source of genome variation with important evolutionary implications. Consequently, it is essential to determine copy number variant (CNV) behavior, distributions and frequencies across genomes to understand their origins in both evolutionary and generational time frames. We use comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) microarray and the resolution provided by a segregating population of cloned progeny lines of the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, to identify and analyze the inheritance of 170 genome-wide CNVs.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We describe CNVs in progeny clones derived from both Mendelian (i.e. inherited) and non-Mendelian mechanisms. Forty-five CNVs were present in the parent lines and segregated in the progeny population. Furthermore, extensive variation that did not conform to strict Mendelian inheritance patterns was observed. 124 CNVs were called in one or more progeny but in neither parent: we observed CNVs in more than one progeny clone that were not identified in either parent, located more frequently in the telomeric-subtelomeric regions of chromosomes and singleton de novo CNVs distributed evenly throughout the genome. Linkage analysis of CNVs revealed dynamic copy number fluctuations and suggested mechanisms that could have generated them. Five of 12 previously identified expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) hotspots coincide with CNVs, demonstrating the potential for broad influence of CNV on the transcriptional program and phenotypic variation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CNVs are a significant source of segregating and de novo genome variation involving hundreds of genes. Examination of progeny genome segments provides a framework to assess the extent and possible origins of CNVs. This segregating genetic system reveals the breadth, distribution and dynamics of CNVs in a surprisingly plastic parasite genome, providing a new perspective on the sources of diversity in parasite populations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA.
authors.forename: Upeka
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Samarakoon
authors.forename: Joseph M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Gonzales
authors.forename: Jigar J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.forename: Asako
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Checkley
authors.forename: Michael T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Ferdig
mesh_terms: D055028:Comparative Genomic Hybridization; D003433:Crosses, Genetic; D016054:DNA, Protozoan / Q000235:genetics; D018628:Gene Dosage; D008040:Genetic Linkage; D018503:Genome, Protozoan; D040582:Inheritance Patterns; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000235:genetics*; D040641:Quantitative Trait Loci
chemical_list: D016054:DNA, Protozoan