The genome of the avian malaria parasite Haemoproteus majoris (lineage WW2) and its relationship to other Plasmodium species
Abstract
Avian malaria parasites form a highly prevalent and genetically diverse group within the haemosporidians, yet they have long been overlooked relative to their human-and rodentinfecting counterparts. Among these, parasites of the genus Haemoproteus (Haemosporida, Haemoproteidae) are widespread and prevalent blood parasites of birds, transmitted by louse flies (Hippoboscidae) and biting midges (Ceratopogonidae). Recent phylogenomic analyses place Haemoproteus parasites at the root of the haemosporidian tree, making genomic data from these taxa essential for understanding the evolutionary origins of malaria parasites. To date, only two avian Plasmodium and one avian Haemoproteus genomes have been sequenced. We present the first assembled genome of Haemoproteus majoris (lineage WW2), a common blood parasite of passerine birds. As avian erythrocytes are nucleated, parasite DNA was enriched by FACS-based sorting to discriminate and isolate the parasite from host cell nuclei prior to wholegenome amplification. The genome was assembled using Nanopore long-read sequencing and polished with Illumina short-reads, yielding 145 contigs with a total assembly size of 23.9Mb and a G+C content of 27.85%. Genome annotation identified 5501 protein-coding genes, 69 non-coding RNA genes, and 57 long terminal repeat retrotransposons (LRT-RTs), including one full-length element. This genomic resource represents a critical step towards elucidating the evolutionary history and genomic architecture of avian malaria parasites.
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BibTeX
@misc{bardil2026genome,
title = {{The genome of the avian malaria parasite Haemoproteus majoris (lineage WW2) and its relationship to other Plasmodium species}},
author = {Amélie Bardil and Arnaud Berthomieu and Jacques Dainat and Michael C Fontaine and Olof Hellgren and Ana Rivero and Thomas D Otto and Sylvain Gandon},
howpublished = {HAL},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.64898/2026.07.13.738139},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05772301v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - The genome of the avian malaria parasite Haemoproteus majoris (lineage WW2) and its relationship to other Plasmodium species
AU - Amélie Bardil
AU - Arnaud Berthomieu
AU - Jacques Dainat
AU - Michael C Fontaine
AU - Olof Hellgren
AU - Ana Rivero
AU - Thomas D Otto
AU - Sylvain Gandon
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/17
PB - HAL
DO - 10.64898/2026.07.13.738139
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05772301v1
AB - Avian malaria parasites form a highly prevalent and genetically diverse group within the haemosporidians, yet they have long been overlooked relative to their human-and rodentinfecting counterparts. Among these, parasites of the genus Haemoproteus (Haemosporida, Haemoproteidae) are widespread and prevalent blood parasites of birds, transmitted by louse flies (Hippoboscidae) and biting midges (Ceratopogonidae). Recent phylogenomic analyses place Haemoproteus parasites at the root of the haemosporidian tree, making genomic data from these taxa essential for understanding the evolutionary origins of malaria parasites. To date, only two avian Plasmodium and one avian Haemoproteus genomes have been sequenced. We present the first assembled genome of Haemoproteus majoris (lineage WW2), a common blood parasite of passerine birds. As avian erythrocytes are nucleated, parasite DNA was enriched by FACS-based sorting to discriminate and isolate the parasite from host cell nuclei prior to wholegenome amplification. The genome was assembled using Nanopore long-read sequencing and polished with Illumina short-reads, yielding 145 contigs with a total assembly size of 23.9Mb and a G+C content of 27.85%. Genome annotation identified 5501 protein-coding genes, 69 non-coding RNA genes, and 57 long terminal repeat retrotransposons (LRT-RTs), including one full-length element. This genomic resource represents a critical step towards elucidating the evolutionary history and genomic architecture of avian malaria parasites.
ER -