title: Horizontally Transferred Genetic Elements in the Tsetse Fly Genome: An Alignment-Free Clustering Approach Using Batch Learning Self-Organising Map (BLSOM).
abstract: Tsetse flies (Glossinaspp.) are the primary vectors of trypanosomes, which can cause human and animal African trypanosomiasis in Sub-Saharan African countries. The objective of this study was to explore the genome ofGlossina morsitans morsitansfor evidence of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) from microorganisms. We employed an alignment-free clustering method, that is, batch learning self-organising map (BLSOM), in which sequence fragments are clustered based on the similarity of oligonucleotide frequencies independently of sequence homology. After an initial scan of HGT events using BLSOM, we identified 3.8% of the tsetse fly genome as HGT candidates. The predicted donors of these HGT candidates included known symbionts, such asWolbachia, as well as bacteria that have not previously been associated with the tsetse fly. We detected HGT candidates from diverse bacteria such asBacillusand Flavobacteria, suggesting a past association between these taxa. Functional annotation revealed that the HGT candidates encoded loci in various functional pathways, such as metabolic and antibiotic biosynthesis pathways. These findings provide a basis for understanding the coevolutionary history of the tsetse fly and its microbes and establish the effectiveness of BLSOM for the detection of HGT events.
authors.affiliation: Unit of Risk Analysis and Management, Hokkaido University Research Center for Zoonosis Control, Kita 20, Nishi 10, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 001-0020, Japan; Laboratory of Parasitology, Department of Disease Control, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Kita 18, Nishi 9, Kita-Ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0818, Japan.
authors.forename: Ryo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nakao
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Science & Technology, Niigata University, No. 8050, Igarashi 2-no-cho, Nishi-ku, Niigata 950-2181, Japan.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-8692-4241
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Abe
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Science & Technology, Niigata University, No. 8050, Igarashi 2-no-cho, Nishi-ku, Niigata 950-2181, Japan.
authors.forename: Shunsuke
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Funayama
authors.affiliation: Division of Collaboration and Education, Hokkaido University Research Center for Zoonosis Control, Kita 20, Nishi 10, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 001-0020, Japan; Global Station for Zoonosis Control, Global Institution for Collaborative Research and Education (GI-CoRE), Hokkaido University, Kita 20, Nishi 10, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 001-0020, Japan; Department of Disease Control, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, P.O. Box 32379, Lusaka, Zambia.
authors.forename: Chihiro
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-8708-0140
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sugimoto
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001407:Bacillus / Q000235:genetics; D002874:Chromosome Mapping / Q000379:methods; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D022761:Gene Transfer, Horizontal; D056426:Genetic Loci; D016678:Genome; D014370:Tsetse Flies / Q000235:genetics* / Q000382:microbiology; D020577:Wolbachia / Q000235:genetics