AUTHOR=Rodi Miriam , Gross Caspar , Sandri Thaisa Lucas , Berner Lilith , Marcet-Houben Marina , Kocak Ersoy , Pogoda Michaela , Casadei Nicolas , Köhler Carsten , Kreidenweiss Andrea , Agnandji Selidji Todagbe , Gabaldón Toni , Ossowski Stephan , Held Jana 

TITLE=Whole genome analysis of two sympatric human Mansonella: Mansonella perstans and Mansonella sp “DEUX”

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2023.1159814

DOI=10.3389/fcimb.2023.1159814

ISSN=2235-2988

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Introduction</title><p><italic>Mansonella</italic> species are filarial parasites that infect humans worldwide. Although these infections are common, knowledge of the pathology and diversity of the causative species is limited. Furthermore, the lack of sequencing data for <italic>Mansonella</italic> species, shows that their research is neglected. Apart from Mansonella perstans, a potential new species called <italic>Mansonella</italic> sp “DEUX” has been identified in Gabon, which is prevalent at high frequencies. We aimed to further determine if <italic>Mansonella</italic> sp “DEUX” is a genotype of M. <italic>perstans</italic>, or if these are two sympatric species.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>We screened individuals in the area of Fougamou, Gabon for Mansonella mono-infections and generated de novo assemblies from the respective samples. For evolutionary analysis, a phylogenetic tree was reconstructed, and the differences and divergence times are presented. In addition, mitogenomes were generated and phylogenies based on 12S rDNA and cox1 were created.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>We successfully generated whole genomes for M. perstans and <italic>Mansonella</italic> sp “DEUX”. Phylogenetic analysis based on annotated protein sequences, support the hypothesis of two distinct species. The inferred evolutionary analysis suggested, that M. perstans and <italic>Mansonella</italic> sp “DEUX” separated around 778,000 years ago. Analysis based on mitochondrial marker genes support our hypothesis of two sympatric human Mansonella species.</p></sec><sec><title>Discussion</title><p>The results presented indicate that <italic>Mansonella</italic> sp “DEUX” is a new <italic>Mansonella</italic> species. These findings reflect the neglect of this research topic. And the availability of whole genome data will allow further investigations of these species</p></sec>