CAZyme Annotation of Five Parasitic Trichomonads Reveals a Conserved Repertoire of Host Glycan Targeting Proteins
Listed in
This article is not in any list yet, why not save it to one of your lists.Abstract
Deciphering the functional potential of the unusually large and repetitive genomes of trichomonads has remained challenging since the first Trichomonas vaginalis genome assembly in 2007. These genomes are characterised by extensive gene duplication, widespread lateral gene transfer from prokaryotes, and numerous hypothetical proteins. Here, we systematically re-annotated five parasitic trichomonad genomes using the CAZy annotation pipeline, identifying 1,406 CAZyme-encoding genes (which encompass all four core CAZyme classes and carbohydrate-binding modules (CBMs)) - including 516 genes previously annotated as encoding hypothetical proteins - and generating predictions of CAZy genes originating from potential lateral gene transfer, encoding candidate secreted proteins, and their candidate metabolic pathway involvement. Comparative analyses revealed a conserved, highly duplicated repertoire of candidate mucin O-glycan-targeting CAZymes across all five species, alongside broad conservation of a candidate antibacterial CAZyme toolkit. Together, these findings substantially enrich functional annotation of these genomes and highlight in particular CAZymes and CBMs as promising targets for the future characterisation of the molecular and cellular basis of parasite-host and parasite-microbiota interactions underlying mucosal disease and dysbiosis associated with trichomonads.
Significance Statement
Parasitic trichomonads possess unusually large and complex genomes that are challenging to annotate, hindering the identification of virulence factors and other genes of interest. Glycans are central to interactions between these parasites and their hosts and host microbiota, influencing processes such as attachment, nutrient acquisition and microbial competition. This study enhances the annotation of five parasitic trichomonad genomes by incorporating CAZy-classified protein and module information (e.g. glycoside hydrolases and carbohydrate binding modules) and comparative analyses, revealing novel candidate virulence factors within this functionally important gene set. The resulting dataset provides a rich and robust resource for the research community to further investigate the biology and the molecular and cellular basis of the pathogenic potential of these understudied parasites that infect various mucosal sites across a broad range of hosts across birds and mammals, including humans.
