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Composite genome map and recombination parameters derived from three archetypal lineages of Toxoplasma gondii

Asis Khan, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
Sonya Taylor, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
Chunlei Su, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
Aaron J. Mackey, University of Pennsylvania
Jon Boyle, Stanford University
Robert Cole, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
Darius Glover, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
Keliang Tang, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
Ian T. Paulsen, The Institute for Genomic Research
Matt Berriman, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute
John C. Boothroyd, Stanford University
Elmer R. Pfefferkorn, Dartmouth Medical School
J. P. Dubey, United States Department of Agriculture
James W. Ajioka, Cambridge University
David S. Roos, University of Pennsylvania
John C. Wooton, National Institutes of Health
L. D. Sibley, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis

Article comments

© The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. The online version of this article has been published under an open access model. Users are entitled to use, reproduce, disseminate, or display the open access version of this article for non-commercial purposes provided that: the original authorship is properly and fully attributed; the Journal and Oxford University Press are attributed as the original place of publication with the correct citation details given; if an article is subsequently reproduced or disseminated not in its entirety but only in part or as a derivative work this must be clearly indicated.

Abstract

Toxoplasma gondii is a highly successful protozoan parasite in the phylum Apicomplexa, which contains numerous animal and human pathogens. T.gondii is amenable to cellular, biochemical, molecular and genetic studies, making it a model for the biology of this important group of parasites. To facilitate forward genetic analysis, we have developed a high resolution genetic linkage map for T.gondii. The genetic map was used to assemble the scaffolds from a 10X shotgun whole genome sequence, thus defining 14 chromosomes with markers spaced at ~300 kb intervals across the genome. Fourteen chromosomes were identified comprising a total genetic size of ~592 cM and an average map unit of ~104 kb / cM. Analysis of the genetic parameters in T.gondii revealed a high frequency of closely adjacent, apparent double crossover events that may represent gene conversions. In addition, we detected large regions of genetichomogeneity among the archetypal clonal lineages, reflecting the relatively few genetic outbreeding events that have occurred since their recent origin. Despite these unusual features, linkage analysis proved to be effective in mapping the loci determining several drug resistances. The resulting genome map provides a framework for analysis of complex traits such as virulence and transmission, and for comparative population genetic studies. DOI: 10.1093/nar/gki604

Suggested Citation

Asis Khan, Sonya Taylor, Chunlei Su, Aaron J. Mackey, Jon Boyle, Robert Cole, Darius Glover, Keliang Tang, Ian T. Paulsen, Matt Berriman, John C. Boothroyd, Elmer R. Pfefferkorn, J. P. Dubey, James W. Ajioka, David S. Roos, John C. Wooton, and L. D. Sibley. "Composite genome map and recombination parameters derived from three archetypal lineages of Toxoplasma gondii" Nucleic Acids Research 33.9 (2005).
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/chunlei_su/1