International glossina genome initiative 2004-2014: a driver for post-genomic era research on the African continent.

Abstract

Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), also known as sleeping sickness, is a neglected disease that impacts 70 million people distributed over 1.55 million km2 in sub-Saharan Africa and includes at least 50% of the population of the Democratic Republic of the Congo [1]. Trypanosoma brucei gambiense accounts for more than 98% of the infections in central and West Africa, the remaining infections being from Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense in East Africa [2]. The parasites are transmitted to the hosts through the bite of an infected tsetse fly. Disease control is challenging as there are no vaccines, and effective, easily delivered drugs are still lacking. Treatment invariably involves lengthy hospitalization, with both medical and socioeconomic consequences. Control of disease can be accomplished, however, through vector control, which largely to date has aimed to reduce insect populations rather than eliminate them. In the mid-1990s, disease cases were increasing but tsetse research and facilities that could maintain tsetse fly colonies were on a decline globally, particularly in Africa. This was also at a time when new scientific advances were being realized in other vector-borne disease systems, particularly building on the revolution in genome sequencing and genome-wide analyses. In 2004, the Molecular Entomology program of the World Health Organization Tropical Diseases Research (WHO-TDR) unit began an initiative (International Glossina Genome Initiative, IGGI) that brought together an interdisciplinary group of researchers from multiple countries and institutions to explore possibilities for genomics and post-genomics research in the Tsetse field. The first major goal of IGGI was to produce a reference genome sequence for single Glossina species—work that is described in [3]. However, alongside this direct output, there were two further goals for this initiative. First, to understand the genomic basis of unique aspects of tsetse biology with a focus on applied discoveries, those that could be exploited to aid in vector control; and second, to use this network to help build global capacity, in Africa and globally, for genetics and genomics-based research into tsetse. This vision was crystalized at the outset with a decision to generate sustainable genomic resources on the African continent, and in turn to use these resources to provide training in genome analytical skills (Figure 1). The IGGI consortium met annually to organize training workshops, to initiate transcriptomics-based projects, to recruit financial resources to undertake the WGS initiative and to track progress once the project was successfully launched. Wellcome Trust funding for the WGS project provided the much-needed momentum to ensure the project remained on track. Figure 1 Glossina molecular toolbox to facilitate genomics training.