Population genomics reveals an ancient origin of heartworms in canids

Heartworms (Dirofilaria immitis) are parasitic nematodes that cause significant cardiopulmonary-associated morbidity and mortality in canids worldwide. The global spread of heartworms is believed to have occurred alongside the dispersal of modern domesticated dogs over the past few hundred years. However, this conclusion has been based on limited sampling, both geographically and numerically. To test this theory more rigorously, we analyse the whole genomes of 127 adult heartworm specimens collected from mammalian carnivore hosts across Australia, the USA, Central America, Europe, and Asia. Here we show distinct genetic differences between heartworms from different continents, indicating a more ancient dispersal in canid hosts than previously recognised. Using genetic diversity and admixture analyses, we find an Asian origin for Australian heartworms, aligning with the arrival of dingoes into Australia via Asia thousands of years ago; however, we cannot exclude the alternate hypothesis that heartworms were also introduced from Asia in post-colonial times. Finally, the genetic relatedness between European and Central American heartworms suggests that modern dispersal, potentially associated with human colonisation of the Americas by Europeans, occurred with domesticated dogs. This work sheds light on the population dynamics and deep evolutionary history of a globally widespread parasite of veterinary significance.

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Publication Details

Journal
Communications Biology
Published
2026-01-20
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-09250-x
Citations
1
Primary Topic
Parasitic Diseases Research and Treatment
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
32.78

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article

Population genomics reveals an ancient origin of heartworms in canids

Piyanan Taweethavonsawat, Tiana L. Sanders, Patrizia Danesi, Andrew R. Moorhead et al.
1 citations
Communications Biology
Parasitic Diseases Research and Treatment
32.78
article

Population genomics reveals an ancient origin of heartworms in canids

Piyanan Taweethavonsawat, Tiana L. Sanders, Patrizia Danesi, Andrew R. Moorhead, Michael T. Dzimianski, Michelle L. Michalski, Guilherme G. Verocai, Andrei Daniel Mihalca, Jeremy M. Foster, Rosemonde Isabella Power, Elias C. Papadopoulos, Heather Stockdale Walden, SS Ho, Samuel C. Chacon, Jan Šlapeta, Alicia Rojas, Swaid Abdullah, Reuben S. K. Sharma, Joe L. Luksovsky, Dung Thi Bui, Anh Do Ngoc, Georgiana Deak
article en
1 citations

Abstract

Heartworms (Dirofilaria immitis) are parasitic nematodes that cause significant cardiopulmonary-associated morbidity and mortality in canids worldwide. The global spread of heartworms is believed to have occurred alongside the dispersal of modern domesticated dogs over the past few hundred years. However, this conclusion has been based on limited sampling, both geographically and numerically. To test this theory more rigorously, we analyse the whole genomes of 127 adult heartworm specimens collected from mammalian carnivore hosts across Australia, the USA, Central America, Europe, and Asia. Here we show distinct genetic differences between heartworms from different continents, indicating a more ancient dispersal in canid hosts than previously recognised. Using genetic diversity and admixture analyses, we find an Asian origin for Australian heartworms, aligning with the arrival of dingoes into Australia via Asia thousands of years ago; however, we cannot exclude the alternate hypothesis that heartworms were also introduced from Asia in post-colonial times. Finally, the genetic relatedness between European and Central American heartworms suggests that modern dispersal, potentially associated with human colonisation of the Americas by Europeans, occurred with domesticated dogs. This work sheds light on the population dynamics and deep evolutionary history of a globally widespread parasite of veterinary significance.

Communications BiologyVol. 9(1)
New England Biolabs (United States) (US), The University of Sydney (AU), Universiti Putra Malaysia (MY), North Carolina State University (US), Universidad Autónoma de Chiriquí (PA), Chulalongkorn University (TH), Stockholm University (SE), The University of Queensland (AU), University of Georgia (US), University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca (RO), Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (GR), Taronga Conservation Society Australia (AU), Wellcome Sanger Institute (GB), Universidad de Costa Rica (CR), University of Florida (US), Vietnam Military Medical University (VN), Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie (IT), Centre for Palaeogenetics (SE), University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh (US), Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VN), Texas A&M University (US)
Canine Research Foundation, Wellcome Trust, UK Research and Innovation, Australian Government, Australian Society for Parasitology, Australian Companion Animal Health Foundation, School of Veterinary Science, University of Queensland
Good health and well-being
Openalex Percentile: Top 2%
Parasitic Diseases Research and Treatment
32.78
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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