EconPapers    
Economics at your fingertips  
 

Global diversity of soil-transmitted helminths reveals population-biased genetic variation that impacts diagnostic targets

Marina Papaiakovou (), Andrea Waeschenbach, Olumide Ajibola, Sitara SR Ajjampur, Roy M. Anderson, Robin Bailey, Jade Benjamin-Chung, Maria Cambra-Pellejà, Nicolas R. Caro, David Chaima, Rubén O. Cimino, Piet Cools, Anélsio Cossa, Julia Dunn, Sean Galagan, Javier Gandasegui, Berta Grau-Pujol, Emma L. Houlder, Moudachirou Ibikounlé, Timothy P. Jenkins, Khumbo Kalua, Eyrun F. Kjetland, Alejandro J. Krolewiecki, Bruno Levecke, Adrian JF Luty, Andrew S. MacDonald, Inácio Mandomando, Malathi Manuel, Maria Martínez-Valladares, Rojelio Mejia, Zeleke Mekonnen, Augusto Messa, Harriet Mpairwe, Osvaldo Muchisse, Jose Muñoz, Pauline Mwinzi, Valdemiro Novela, Maurice R. Odiere, Charfudin Sacoor, Judd L. Walson, Steven A. Williams, Stefan Witek-McManus, D. Timothy J. Littlewood, Cinzia Cantacessi and Stephen R. Doyle ()
Additional contact information
Marina Papaiakovou: University of Cambridge
Andrea Waeschenbach: Cromwell Road
Olumide Ajibola: Yaba
Sitara SR Ajjampur: Christian Medical College Vellore
Roy M. Anderson: White City Campus
Robin Bailey: University of Washington
Jade Benjamin-Chung: Stanford University
Maria Cambra-Pellejà: ISGlobal
Nicolas R. Caro: Universidad Nacional de Salta
David Chaima: University of Washington
Rubén O. Cimino: Universidad Nacional de Salta
Piet Cools: Ghent University
Anélsio Cossa: Centro de Investigação em Saúde de Manhiça (CISM)
Julia Dunn: White City Campus
Sean Galagan: University of Washington
Javier Gandasegui: Wellcome Sanger Institute
Berta Grau-Pujol: ISGlobal
Emma L. Houlder: Leiden University Medical Center
Moudachirou Ibikounlé: University of Washington
Timothy P. Jenkins: Technical University of Denmark
Khumbo Kalua: University of Washington
Eyrun F. Kjetland: Oslo University Hospital
Alejandro J. Krolewiecki: Universidad Nacional de Salta
Bruno Levecke: Ghent University
Adrian JF Luty: University of Washington
Andrew S. MacDonald: University of Edinburgh
Inácio Mandomando: ISGlobal
Malathi Manuel: Christian Medical College Vellore
Maria Martínez-Valladares: Grulleros
Rojelio Mejia: Baylor College of Medicine
Zeleke Mekonnen: Jimma University
Augusto Messa: ISGlobal
Harriet Mpairwe: MRC/UVRI and LSHTM Uganda Research Unit
Osvaldo Muchisse: Centro de Investigação em Saúde de Manhiça (CISM)
Jose Muñoz: ISGlobal
Pauline Mwinzi: Kenya Medical Research Institute
Valdemiro Novela: Centro de Investigação em Saúde de Manhiça (CISM)
Maurice R. Odiere: Kenya Medical Research Institute
Charfudin Sacoor: Centro de Investigação em Saúde de Manhiça (CISM)
Judd L. Walson: University of Washington
Steven A. Williams: Smith College
Stefan Witek-McManus: University of Washington
D. Timothy J. Littlewood: Cromwell Road
Cinzia Cantacessi: University of Cambridge
Stephen R. Doyle: Wellcome Sanger Institute

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Abstract Soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) are intestinal parasites that affect over a billion people worldwide. STH control relies on microscopy-based diagnostics to monitor parasite prevalence and enable post-treatment surveillance; however, molecular diagnostics are rapidly being developed due to increased sensitivity, particularly in low-STH-prevalence settings. The genetic diversity of helminths and its potential impact on molecular diagnostics remain unclear. Using low-coverage genome sequencing, we assess the genetics of STHs within worm, faecal, and purified egg samples from 27 countries, identifying differences in the genetic connectivity and diversity of STH-positive samples across regions and cryptic diversity between closely related human- and pig-infective species. We define substantial copy number and sequence variants in current diagnostic target regions and validate the impact of genetic variation on qPCR diagnostics using in vitro assays. Our study provides insights into the diversity and genomic epidemiology of STHs, highlighting both the challenges and opportunities for developing molecular diagnostics needed to support STH control efforts.

Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-61687-0 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-61687-0

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-61687-0

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().

 
Page updated 2025-07-12
Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-61687-0