Sequence is scaffold to study sleeping sickness
Friday, April 16, 2010 - 02:21
in Biology & Nature
Researchers have published the genome sequence for T. b. gambiense -- the strain of Trypanosoma brucei responsible for almost all cases of sleeping sickness in humans. A remarkable level of similarity with the previously sequenced bovine infecting strain suggests the sequences provide a foundation for studies into how these parasites cause disease. The team found no genetic cause for T. b. gambiense's human infectivity, but suggest new avenues for future studies to understand the disease.