The genome of the African trypanosome Trypanosoma brucei

Berriman, M. et al. (2005) The genome of the African trypanosome Trypanosoma brucei. Science, 309(5733), pp. 416-422. (doi: 10.1126/science.1112642)

Abstract

African trypanosomes cause human sleeping sickness and livestock trypanosomiasis in sub-Saharan Africa. We present the sequence and analysis of the 11 megabase-sized chromosomes of <i>Trypanosoma brucei</i>. The 26-megabase genome contains 9068 predicted genes, including ~900 pseudogenes and ~1700 <i>T. brucei</i>–specific genes. Large subtelomeric arrays contain an archive of 806 variant surface glycoprotein (VSG) genes used by the parasite to evade the mammalian immune system. Most VSG genes are pseudogenes, which may be used to generate expressed mosaic genes by ectopic recombination. Comparisons of the cytoskeleton and endocytic trafficking systems with those of humans and other eukaryotic organisms reveal major differences. A comparison of metabolic pathways encoded by the genomes of <i>T. brucei</i>, <i>T. cruzi</i>, and <i>Leishmania major</i> reveals the least overall metabolic capability in <i>T. brucei</i> and the greatest in <i>L. major</i>. Horizontal transfer of genes of bacterial origin has contributed to some of the metabolic differences in these parasites, and a number of novel potential drug targets have been identified.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: MacLeod, Professor Annette
• Authors: Berriman, M., Ghedin, E., Hertz-Fowler, C., Blandin, G., Renauld, H., Bartholomeu, D.C., Lennard, N.J., Caler, E., Hamlin, N.E., Haas, B., Böhme, U., Hannick, L., Aslett, M.A., Shallom, J., Marcello, L., Hou, L., Wickstead, B., Alsmark, U.C.M., Arrowsmith, C., Atkin, R.J., Barron, A.J., Bringaud, F., Brooks, K., Carrington, M., Cherevach, I., Chillingworth, T.-J., Churcher, C., Clark, L.N., Corton, C.H., Cronin, A., Davies, R.M., Doggett, J., Djikeng, A., Feldblyum, T., Field, M.C., Fraser, A., Goodhead, I., Hance, Z., Harper, D., Harris, B.R., Hauser, H., Hostetler, J., Ivens, A., Jagels, K., Johnson, D., Johnson, J., Jones, K., Kerhornou, A.X., Koo, H., Larke, N., Landfear, S., Larkin, C., Leech, V., Line, A., Lord, A., MacLeod, A., Mooney, P.J., Moule, S., Martin, D.M.A., Morgan, G.W., Mungall, K., Norbertczak, H., Ormond, D., Pai, G., Peacock, C.S., Peterson, J., Quail, M.A., Rabbinowitsch, E., Rajandream, M.-A., Reitter, C., Salzberg, S.L., Sanders, M., Schobel, S., Sharp, S., Simmonds, M., Simpson, A.J., Tallon, L., Turner, C.M.R., Tait, A., Tivey, A.R., Van Aken, S., Walker, D., Wanless, D., wang, S., White, B., White, O., Whitehead, S., Woodward, J., Wortman, J., Adams, M.D., Embley, T.M., Gull, K., Ullu, E., Barry, J.D., Fairlamb, A.H., Opperdoes, F., Barrell, B.G., Donelson, J.E., Hall, N., Fraser, C.M., Melville, S.E., and El-Sayed, N.M.
• Subjects: Q Science > QR Microbiology > QR355 Virology
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences
• Journal Name: Science
• Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science
• ISSN: 0036-8075
• ISSN (Online): 1095-9203