A new chromosome-level genome assembly and annotation of Cryptosporidium meleagridis

Abstract

Cryptosporidium spp. are medically and scientifically relevant protozoan parasites that cause severe diarrheal illness in infants and immunosuppressed populations as well as animals. Although most human Cryptosporidium infections are caused by C. parvum and C. hominis, there are several other human-infecting species including C. meleagridis, which is commonly observed in developing countries. Here, we polished and annotated a long-read genome sequence assembly for C. meleagridis TU1867, a species which infects birds and humans. The genome sequence was generated using a combination of whole genome amplification (WGA) and long-read Oxford Nanopore Technologies sequencing. The assembly was then polished with Illumina data. The chromosome-level genome assembly is 9.2 Mbp with a contig N50 of 1.1 Mb. Annotation revealed 3,923 protein-coding genes. A BUSCO analysis indicates a completeness of 96.6% (n=446), including 430 (96.4%) single-copy and 1 (0.224%) duplicated apicomplexan conserved gene(s). The new C. meleagridis genome assembly is nearly gap-free and provides a valuable new resource for the Cryptosporidium community and future studies on evolution and host-specificity.