- Department of Biological Sciences Belarus
- National Institute of Health
- University of Bamako Mali
- University of Bamako
- Case Western Reserve University
- National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases United States
- University of Maryland School of Medicine United States
- University of Notre Dame
- NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF HEALTH United States
- National Institutes of Health
- Department of Biological Sciences Russian Federation
- National Institute of Health Pakistan
- National Institutes of Health United States
- National Institutes of Health Canada
- Department of Biology
- National Institutes of Health
- Case Western Reserve University
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases United States
- National Institutes of Health
- CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSIT
- UNIVERSITY OF BAMAKO
- National Institute of Health (NIH/NICHD) United States
- National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseseases, Department of Health and Human Services United States
- CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY
- National Institute of Health (NIH)
- University of Maryland, Baltimore United States
- Case Western Reserve University
- Department of Biological Sciences
- University of Maryland, College Park United States
- University of Notre Dame United States
- Case Western Reserve University United States
- University of Notre Dame
- National Institute of Health Armenia
AbstractThe human disease lymphatic filariasis causes the debilitating effects of elephantiasis and hydrocele. Lymphatic filariasis currently affects the lives of 90 million people in 52 countries. There are three nematodes that cause lymphatic filariasis,Brugia malayi, B. timori, andWuchereria bancrofti, but 90% of all cases of lymphatic filariasis are caused solely byW. bancrofti. Here we use population genomics to identify the geographic origin ofW. bancroftiand reconstruct its spread. Previous genomic sequencing efforts have suffered from difficulties in obtaining Wb DNA. We used selective whole genome amplification to enrichW. bancroftiDNA from infected blood samples and were able to analyze 47 whole genomes ofW. bancroftifrom endemic locations in Haiti, Mali, Kenya, and Papua New Guinea. Our results are consistent with a Southeast Asia or East Asia origin forW. bancroftispread around the globe by infecting migrating populations of humans. Austronesians probably introducedW. ban-croftito Madagascar where later migrations moved it to continental Africa. From Africa,W. bancroftispread to the New World during the transatlantic slave trade. The greater genetic diversity ofW. bancroftipopulations from Haiti are also consistent with genetic admixture from multiple source populations. Genome scans for locally adapted haplotypes identified genes associated with human immune suppression and insecticide sensitivity. Locally adapted haplotypes may provide a foundation to understand the distribution ofW. bancrofticompared to that of other filarial nematodes and how populations may differ in response to eradication efforts.