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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #305056
Title: Comparative genetics: a lens through which to clarify the genomes, the transmission history, and the reproductive biology of Trichinella spp.

Author
item Rosenthal, Benjamin
item Thompson, Peter
item LIU, MINGYUAN - Jilin University

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/29/2014
Publication Date: 6/30/2014
Citation: Rosenthal, B.M., Thompson, P.C., Liu, M. 2014. Comparative genetics: a lens through which to clarify the genomes, the transmission history, and the reproductive biology of Trichinella spp.. Meeting Abstract. 24:167-176.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Progress in studying the biology of Trichinella spp. was greatly advanced with the publication and analysis of the draft genome sequence of T. spiralis. Those data provide a basis for constructing testable hypothesis concerning parasite physiology, immunology, and genetics. They also provide tools helpful for determining how diversity is apportioned among isolates of T. spiralis and what heritable differences distinguish one species of Trichinella from another. Recent technological advances allow us to deploy comparative genomics to further characterize variation within and among parasite genomes. Here, we report how sequencing portions of the T. murrelli genome improves the assembly of T. spiralis genome, and visa versa. We highlight the evidence for only limited variation in T. sprialis in Europe and the Americas, consistent with the notion that this lineage experienced a marked range expansion only recently in its evolutionary history. We use patterns of variation among the larvae comprising single infections to determine high levels of inbreeding, especially outside of China. And we suggest future paths for employing comparative genomics as a means to improve differential diagnosis of infections.