Entamoeba histolytica is the causative agent of amoebic dysentery and liver abscess that affect millions of people annually worldwide resulting in tens of thousands deaths.
Loftus et al. published an annotation of the draft genome assembly in 2005. However, subsequent identification of assembly artifacts and the availability of additional sequence and functional data made necessary a thorough revision of its entire sequence and annotation. The genome of
E. histolytica has now been re-assembled and re-annotated, incorporating significant structural and functional modifications to existing gene models.
The new 20 million basepair genome assembly contains 8,160 predicted genes; known and novel transposable elements have been mapped and characterized, functional assignments have been revised and updated, and additional information has been incorporated, including metabolic pathways, Gene Ontology assignments, curation of transporters, and generation of gene families. All information is available through GenBank and Pathema, a web resource that unifies and displays up to date genome information.
from Anaerobic Parasitic Protozoa: Genomics and Molecular BiologyFurther reading:Labels: Amoebic dysentery, E histolytica, Entamoeba histolytica, Liver abscess