The genome of the kinetoplastid parasite, Leishmania major

Alasdair C. Ivens, Christopher S. Peacock, Elizabeth A. Worthey, Lee Murphy, Gautam Aggarwal, Matthew Berriman, Ellen Sisk, Marie Adele Rajandream, Ellen Adlem, Rita Aert, Atashi Anupama, Zina Apostolou, Philip Attipoe, Nathalie Bason, Christopher Bauser, Alfred Beck, Stephen M. Beverley, Gabriella Bianchettin, Katja Borzym, Gordana BotheCarlo V. Bruschi, Matt Collins, Eithon Cadag, Laura Ciarloni, Christine Clayton, Richard M.R. Coulson, Ann Cronin, Angela K. Cruz, Robert M. Davies, Javier De Gaudenzi, Deborah E. Dobson, Andreas Duesterhoeft, Gholam Fazelina, Nigel Fosker, Alberto Carlos Frasch, Audrey Fraser, Monika Fuchs, Claudia Gabel, Arlette Goble, André Goffeau, David Harris, Christiane Hertz-Fowler, Helmut Hilbert, David Horn, Yiting Huang, Sven Klages, Andrew Knights, Michael Kube, Natasha Larke, Lyudmila Litvin, Angela Lord, Tin Louie, Marco Marra, David Masuy, Keith Matthews, Shulamit Michaeli, Jeremy C. Mottram, Silke Müller-Auer, Heather Munden, Siri Nelson, Halina Norbertczak, Karen Oliver, Susan O'Neil, Martin Pentony, Thomas M. Pohl, Claire Price, Bénédicte Purnelle, Michael A. Quail, Ester Rabbinowitsch, Richard Reinhardt, Michael Rieger, Joel Rinta, Johan Robben, Laura Robertson, Jeronimo C. Ruiz, Simon Rutter, David Saunders, Melanie Schäfer, Jacquie Schein, David C. Schwartz, Kathy Seeger, Amber Seyler, Sarah Sharp, Heesun Shin, Dhileep Sivam, Rob Squares, Steve Squares, Valentina Tosato, Christy Vogt, Guido Volckaert, Rolf Wambutt, Tim Warren, Holger Wedler, John Woodward, Shiguo Zhou, Wolfgang Zimmermann, Deborah F. Smith, Jenefer M. Blackwell, Kenneth D. Stuart, Bart Barrell, Peter J. Myler

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1182 Scopus citations

Abstract

Leishmania species cause a spectrum of human diseases in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. We have sequenced the 36 chromosomes of the 32.8-megabase haploid genome of Leishmania major (Friedlin strain) and predict 911 RNA genes, 39 pseudogenes, and 8272 protein-coding genes, of which 36% can be ascribed a putative function. These include genes involved in host-pathogen interactions, such as proteolytic enzymes, and extensive machinery for synthesis of complex surface glycoconjugates. The organization of protein-coding genes into long, strand-specific, polycistronic clusters and lack of general transcription factors in the L. major, Trypanosoma brucei, and Trypanosoma cruzi (Tritryp) genomes suggest that the mechanisms regulating RNA polymerase II-directed transcription are distinct from those operating in other eukaryotes, although the trypanosomatids appear capable of chromatin remodeling. Abundant RNA-binding proteins are encoded in the Tritryp genomes, consistent with active posttranscriptional regulation of gene expression.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)436-442
Number of pages7
JournalScience
Volume309
Issue number5733
DOIs
StatePublished - 15 Jul 2005

Funding

FundersFunder number
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious DiseasesR01AI040599

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