title: The genome of Onchocerca volvulus, agent of river blindness.
abstract: Human onchocerciasis is a serious neglected tropical disease caused by the filarial nematode Onchocerca volvulus that can lead to blindness and chronic disability. Control of the disease relies largely on mass administration of a single drug, and the development of new drugs and vaccines depends on a better knowledge of parasite biology. Here, we describe the chromosomes of O. volvulus and its Wolbachia endosymbiont. We provide the highest-quality sequence assembly for any parasitic nematode to date, giving a glimpse into the evolution of filarial parasite chromosomes and proteomes. This resource was used to investigate gene families with key functions that could be potentially exploited as targets for future drugs. Using metabolic reconstruction of the nematode and its endosymbiont, we identified enzymes that are likely to be essential for O. volvulus viability. In addition, we have generated a list of proteins that could be targeted by Federal-Drug-Agency-approved but repurposed drugs, providing starting points for anti-onchocerciasis drug development.
authors.affiliation: Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire CB10 1SA, UK.
authors.forename: James A
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5475-3583
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Cotton
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA.
authors.forename: Sasisekhar
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6117-742X
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bennuru
authors.affiliation: Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, Department of Biology, New York University, New York, New York 10003, USA.
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Grote
authors.affiliation: Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire CB10 1SA, UK.
authors.forename: Bhavana
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Harsha
authors.affiliation: Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire CB10 1SA, UK.
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tracey
authors.affiliation: Institute of Parasitology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H9X 3V9, Canada.
authors.forename: Robin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Beech
authors.affiliation: Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire CB10 1SA, UK.
authors.forename: Stephen R
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-7532
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Doyle
authors.affiliation: Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire CB10 1SA, UK.
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dunn
authors.affiliation: Institute for Genome Sciences, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, USA.
authors.forename: Julie C Dunning
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Hotopp
authors.affiliation: Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire CB10 1SA, UK.
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Holroyd
authors.affiliation: Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire CB10 1SA, UK.
authors.forename: Taisei
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kikuchi
authors.affiliation: Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire CB10 1SA, UK.
authors.forename: Olivia
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Lambert
authors.affiliation: Global Health Infectious Disease Research Program, Department of Global Health, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida 33612, USA.
authors.forename: Amruta
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mhashilkar
authors.affiliation: European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire CB10 1SD, UK.
authors.forename: Prudence
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mutowo
authors.affiliation: Department of Computer Science, University of Toronto, Toronto M5S 3G4, Canada.|Division of Molecular Structure and Function, Research Institute, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1X8, Canada.
authors.forename: Nirvana
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nursimulu
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA.
authors.forename: Jose M C
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
authors.affiliation: Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15224, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Rogers
authors.affiliation: Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire CB10 1SA, UK.
authors.forename: Eleanor
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Stanley
authors.affiliation: Division of Molecular Structure and Function, Research Institute, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1X8, Canada.
authors.forename: Lakshmipuram S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Swapna
authors.affiliation: Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire CB10 1SA, UK.
authors.forename: Isheng J
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2123-5058
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.affiliation: Global Health Infectious Disease Research Program, Department of Global Health, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida 33612, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Unnasch
authors.affiliation: New York Blood Center, New York, New York 10065, USA.
authors.forename: Denis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Voronin
authors.affiliation: Department of Computer Science, University of Toronto, Toronto M5S 3G4, Canada.|Division of Molecular Structure and Function, Research Institute, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1X8, Canada.|Departments of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, M5S 1A8, Canada.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Parkinson
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas B
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6887-4941
authors.initials: TB
authors.lastname: Nutman
authors.affiliation: Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, Department of Biology, New York University, New York, New York 10003, USA.|College of Global Public Health, New York University, New York, New York 10003, USA.
authors.forename: Elodie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ghedin
authors.affiliation: Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire CB10 1SA, UK.
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9581-0377
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Berriman
authors.affiliation: New York Blood Center, New York, New York 10065, USA.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lustigman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016680:Genome, Bacterial; D049751:Genome, Helminth; D017181:Onchocerca volvulus / Q000235:genetics*; D015827:Onchocerciasis, Ocular / Q000469:parasitology*; D020577:Wolbachia / Q000235:genetics