The genome of Cryptosporidium hominis

Ping Xu, Giovanni Widmer, Yingping Wang, Luiz S. Ozaki, Joao M. Alves, Myrna G. Serrano, Daniela Puiu, Patricio Manque, Donna Akiyoshi, Aaron J. Mackey, William R. Pearson, Paul H. Dear, Alan T. Bankier, Darrell L. Peterson, Mitchell S. Abrahamsen, Vivek Kapur, Saul Tzipori and Gregory A. Buck ()
Additional contact information
Ping Xu: Virginia Commonwealth University
Giovanni Widmer: Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine
Yingping Wang: Virginia Commonwealth University
Luiz S. Ozaki: Virginia Commonwealth University
Joao M. Alves: Virginia Commonwealth University
Myrna G. Serrano: Virginia Commonwealth University
Daniela Puiu: Virginia Commonwealth University
Patricio Manque: Virginia Commonwealth University
Donna Akiyoshi: Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine
Aaron J. Mackey: University of Virginia
William R. Pearson: University of Virginia
Paul H. Dear: MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology
Alan T. Bankier: MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology
Darrell L. Peterson: Virginia Commonwealth University
Mitchell S. Abrahamsen: University of Minnesota
Vivek Kapur: University of Minnesota
Saul Tzipori: Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine
Gregory A. Buck: Virginia Commonwealth University

Nature, 2004, vol. 431, issue 7012, 1107-1112

Abstract: Abstract Cryptosporidium species cause acute gastroenteritis and diarrhoea worldwide. They are members of the Apicomplexa—protozoan pathogens that invade host cells by using a specialized apical complex and are usually transmitted by an invertebrate vector or intermediate host. In contrast to other Apicomplexans, Cryptosporidium is transmitted by ingestion of oocysts and completes its life cycle in a single host. No therapy is available, and control focuses on eliminating oocysts in water supplies1. Two species, C. hominis and C. parvum, which differ in host range, genotype and pathogenicity, are most relevant to humans1,2,3. C. hominis is restricted to humans, whereas C. parvum also infects other mammals2. Here we describe the eight-chromosome ∼9.2-million-base genome of C. hominis2. The complement of C. hominis protein-coding genes shows a striking concordance with the requirements imposed by the environmental niches the parasite inhabits. Energy metabolism is largely from glycolysis. Both aerobic and anaerobic metabolisms are available, the former requiring an alternative electron transport system in a simplified mitochondrion. Biosynthesis capabilities are limited, explaining an extensive array of transporters. Evidence of an apicoplast is absent, but genes associated with apical complex organelles are present. C. hominis and C. parvum exhibit very similar gene complements, and phenotypic differences between these parasites must be due to subtle sequence divergence.

Date: 2004
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/nature02977 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:nature:v:431:y:2004:i:7012:d:10.1038_nature02977

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/

DOI: 10.1038/nature02977

Access Statistics for this article

Nature is currently edited by Magdalena Skipper

More articles in Nature from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().