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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Gainesville, Florida » Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology » Mosquito and Fly Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #310042

Title: Features of the genomes of microsporidia in mosquitoes:status and preliminary findings

Author
item Becnel, James
item DESJARDINS, CHRISTOPHER - Genome Sequencing Center
item Sanscrainte, Neil
item CUOMO, CHRISTINA - Genome Sequencing Center

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/7/2014
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The status and preliminary findings for full genome sequencing of two distantly related species of microsporidia with mosquitoes as type hosts will be presented. Vavraia culicis, the type species of the genus Vavraia, was originally described from Culex pipiens. Type material was not available and therefore Vavraia culicis floridensis isolated from Aedes albopictus in Florida was used for sequencing. V. culicis has a broad mosquito host range, is infectious for several species of Lepidoptera and characterized by having only uninucleate stages and produces uninucleate spores in multisporous sporophorous vesicles. Edhazardia aedis is the type species for the genus and has a limited host range in mosquitoes but can only complete its life cycle in Ae.aegypti. E. aedis is polymorphic, producing 4 distinctive spore types. It is transmitted both horizontally and vertically and requires 2 generations of the mosquito host to complete the life cycle. Genome and transcriptome sequencing for E. aedis and V. culicis floridensis is completed. V. culicis floridensis has a genome size of approximately 6.1Mb while E. aedis is nearly an order of magnitude larger at approximately 51.3Mb; yet the gene content difference is smaller, with 2773 and 4190 predicted genes in V. culicis and E. aedis respectively. RNA-seq data has been analyzed for multiple time points in the life cycle of each species to validate predicted gene structures and to examine gene expression. Preliminary analysis of genome evolution and differential gene expression between lifecycle stages will be presented.