The genome of the heartworm, Dirofilaria immitis, reveals drug and vaccine targets.
The heartworm Dirofilaria immitis is an important parasite of dogs. Transmitted by mosquitoes in warmer climatic zones, it is spreading across southern Europe and the Americas at an alarming pace. There is no vaccine, and chemotherapy is prone to complications. To learn more about this parasite, we have sequenced the genomes of D. immitis and its endosymbiont Wolbachia. We predict 10,179 protein coding genes in the 84.2 Mb of the nuclear genome, and 823 genes in the 0.9-Mb Wolbachia genome. The D. immitis genome harbors neither DNA transposons nor active retrotransposons, and there is very little genetic variation between two sequenced isolates from Europe and the United States. The differential presence of anabolic pathways such as heme and nucleotide biosynthesis hints at the intricate metabolic interrelationship between the heartworm and Wolbachia. Comparing the proteome of D. immitis with other nematodes and with mammalian hosts, we identify families of potential drug targets, immune modulators, and vaccine candidates. This genome sequence will support the development of new tools against dirofilariasis and aid efforts to combat related human pathogens, the causative agents of lymphatic filariasis and river blindness.
Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland.
Christelle
C
Godel
Sujai
S
Kumar
Georgios
G
Koutsovoulos
Philipp
P
Ludin
Daniel
D
Nilsson
Francesco
F
Comandatore
Nicola
N
Wrobel
Marian
M
Thompson
Christoph D
CD
Schmid
Susumu
S
Goto
Frédéric
F
Bringaud
Adrian
A
Wolstenholme
Claudio
C
Bandi
Christian
C
Epe
Ronald
R
Kaminsky
Mark
M
Blaxter
Pascal
P
Mäser
D000818:Animals; D000871:Anthelmintics / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004183:Dirofilaria immitis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology; D004184:Dirofilariasis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D014644:Genetic Variation; D016680:Genome, Bacterial; D049751:Genome, Helminth; D008297:Male; D010802:Phylogeny; D020543:Proteome; D018510:RNA, Helminth / Q000737:chemistry; D013559:Symbiosis; D059467:Transcriptome / Q000235:genetics; D014612:Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*; D020577:Wolbachia / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology
D000871:Anthelmintics; D020543:Proteome; D018510:RNA, Helminth; D014612:Vaccines