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A consortium of laboratories from SBRI, The Institute for Genome Research (TIGR), and the Karolinska Institute(KI), has recently completed a draft sequence of the Trypanosoma cruzi CL-Brener (TcBr) genome using a whole genome shotgun (WGS) approach. A total of 1,173,110 reactions have been performed using small (2-3 kb), medium (3-4 kb), and large (8-17 kb) insert plasmid libraries, as well as fosmid (average insert size of 34 kb) and BAC (average insert size of 87 kb) libraries. These reactions represent 759 MB of genomic sequence or ~19-fold coverage of the haploid genome. The WGS sequences were assembled at TIGR using the Celera Assembler.

Trypanosoma cruzi Disease (Chagas)

T. cruzi infection represents a major public health concern in most of Latin America. American trypanosomiasis occurs in Mexico and in central and south America (as far south as central Argentina and Chile). Parasites are transmitted to humans in a number of ways: Via blood feeding of Triatominae bugs infected with the parasites: the parasites are passed in the insects faeces, and inoculated into the host, either into the mucosa of the eye or mouth, or through rubbing or scratching of the wound site or through transfusion with infected blood. Congenitally through transmission from infected mother to foetus. In a small number of cases, infection causes an acute illness, characterized by fever and swollen lymph nodes, which may cause death in young children. In some cases, individuals then pass into an asymptomatic phase, which can last many months or years, during which the parasites are invading numerous organs, particularly the cardiac and intestinal systems, eventually leading to weakness of these systems. In 32% of those infected, fatal damage to the heart and/or digestive tract occurs during this chronic phase. Plesae see WHO Fact Sheet on Trypanosoma cruzi.

Our Mission

As part of the Trypanosoma Genome Network, to sequence, annotate and analyze genomic data from Trypanosoma to enhance the research on these important pathogenic parasites.