Comparative and functional genomics of the protozoan parasite < i > Babesia divergens < /i > highlighting the invasion and egress processes

by Luis Miguel Gonz ález, Karel Estrada, Ricardo Grande, Verónica Jiménez-Jacinto, Leticia Vega-Alvarado, Elena Sevilla, Jorge de la Barrera, Isabel Cuesta, Ángel Zaballos, José Manuel Bautista, Cheryl A. Lobo, Alejandro Sánchez-Flores, Estrella Montero Babesiosis is considered an emerging disease because its incidence has significantly increased in the last 30 years, providing evidence of the expanding range of this rare but potentially life-threatening zoonotic disease.Babesia divergens is a causative agent of babesiosis in humans and cattle in Europe. The recently sequenced genome ofB.divergens revealed over 3,741 protein coding-genes and the 10.7-Mb high-quality draft become the first reference tool to study the genome structure ofB.divergens. Now, by exploiting this sequence data and using new computational tools and assembly strategies, we have significantly improved the quality of theB.divergens genome. The new assembly shows better continuity and has a higher correspondence toB.bovis chromosomes. Moreover, we present a differential expression analysis using RNA sequencing of the two different stages of the asexual lifecycle ofB.divergens: the free merozoite capable of invading erythrocytes and the intraerythrocytic parasite stage that remains within the erythrocyte until egress. Comparison of mRNA levels of both stages identified 1,441 differentially expressed genes. From these, around half were upregulated and the other half downregulated in the intraerythrocy...
Source: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases - Category: Tropical Medicine Authors: Source Type: research