Transcriptomics of Wolbachia of Brugia malayi reveals new genes and a novel, clade-specific transcript. wBm Transcript Annnotations

Wolbachia endosymbionts of both filarial nematodes and arthropods have wide-ranging effects on their particular host, yet at the same time a proper understanding of their diverse relationships is lacking. The first Wolbachia genomes sequenced offered a springboard for more widespread analysis of this genus, yet these are now over a decade old and urgently require both reanalysis and updates in light of new tools and information generated. This work details the generation of a new, human-curated annotation of Wolbachia of Brugia malayi’s genome based on RNA-sequencing data. This data was obtained from Wolbachia of Brugia malayi 14 days after the filarial nematode was infected into an animal model. This was then bioinformatically processed, mapped and assembled to the existing genome. A set of parameters were then used to establish a framework for human curation of this information to produce the final new annotation. From this, several new genes and pseudogenes have been identified, as well as instances of potentially non-model transcribed genes. RNA-sequence data was also able to confirm all of the original annotations made in 2005. Due to the genome of Wolbachia of Brugia malayi being one of the first to be assembled and annotated, the major findings of this work will have significant impacts on the genomes and evolutionary understanding of other Wolbachia that have been, or are yet, to be sequence.