Authors
Matthew Berriman, Brian J Haas, Philip T LoVerde, R Alan Wilson, Gary P Dillon, Gustavo C Cerqueira, Susan T Mashiyama, Bissan Al-Lazikani, Luiza F Andrade, Peter D Ashton, Martin A Aslett, Daniella C Bartholomeu, Gaelle Blandin, Conor R Caffrey, Avril Coghlan, Richard Coulson, Tim A Day, Art Delcher, Ricardo DeMarco, Appolinaire Djikeng, Tina Eyre, John A Gamble, Elodie Ghedin, Yong Gu, Christiane Hertz-Fowler, Hirohisha Hirai, Yuriko Hirai, Robin Houston, Alasdair Ivens, David A Johnston, Daniela Lacerda, Camila D Macedo, Paul McVeigh, Zemin Ning, Guilherme Oliveira, John P Overington, Julian Parkhill, Mihaela Pertea, Raymond J Pierce, Anna V Protasio, Michael A Quail, Marie-Adèle Rajandream, Jane Rogers, Mohammed Sajid, Steven L Salzberg, Mario Stanke, Adrian R Tivey, Owen White, David L Williams, Jennifer Wortman, Wenjie Wu, Mostafa Zamanian, Adhemar Zerlotini, Claire M Fraser-Liggett, Barclay G Barrell, Najib M El-Sayed
Publication date
2009/7/16
Journal
Nature
Volume
460
Issue
7253
Pages
352-358
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group UK
Description
Schistosoma mansoni is responsible for the neglected tropical disease schistosomiasis that affects 210 million people in 76 countries. Here we present analysis of the 363 megabase nuclear genome of the blood fluke. It encodes at least 11,809 genes, with an unusual intron size distribution, and new families of micro-exon genes that undergo frequent alternative splicing. As the first sequenced flatworm, and a representative of the Lophotrochozoa, it offers insights into early events in the evolution of the animals, including the development of a body pattern with bilateral symmetry, and the development of tissues into organs. Our analysis has been informed by the need to find new drug targets. The deficits in lipid metabolism that make schistosomes dependent on the host are revealed, and the identification of membrane receptors, ion channels and more than 300 proteases provide new insights into the biology of the …
Total citations
Scholar articles
M Berriman, BJ Haas, PT LoVerde, RA Wilson… - Nature, 2009