title: Genomic minimalism in the early diverging intestinal parasite Giardia lamblia.
abstract: The genome of the eukaryotic protist Giardia lamblia, an important human intestinal parasite, is compact in structure and content, contains few introns or mitochondrial relics, and has simplified machinery for DNA replication, transcription, RNA processing, and most metabolic pathways. Protein kinases comprise the single largest protein class and reflect Giardia's requirement for a complex signal transduction network for coordinating differentiation. Lateral gene transfer from bacterial and archaeal donors has shaped Giardia's genome, and previously unknown gene families, for example, cysteine-rich structural proteins, have been discovered. Unexpectedly, the genome shows little evidence of heterozygosity, supporting recent speculations that this organism is sexual. This genome sequence will not only be valuable for investigating the evolution of eukaryotes, but will also be applied to the search for new therapeutics for this parasite.
authors: Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA 02543-1015, USA. morrison@mbl.edu
authors: Hilary G
authors: HG
authors: Morrison
authors: Andrew G
authors: AG
authors: McArthur
authors: Frances D
authors: FD
authors: Gillin
authors: Stephen B
authors: SB
authors: Aley
authors: Rodney D
authors: RD
authors: Adam
authors: Gary J
authors: GJ
authors: Olsen
authors: Aaron A
authors: AA
authors: Best
authors: W Zacheus
authors: WZ
authors: Cande
authors: Feng
authors: F
authors: Chen
authors: Michael J
authors: MJ
authors: Cipriano
authors: Barbara J
authors: BJ
authors: Davids
authors: Scott C
authors: SC
authors: Dawson
authors: Heidi G
authors: HG
authors: Elmendorf
authors: Adrian B
authors: AB
authors: Hehl
authors: Michael E
authors: ME
authors: Holder
authors: Susan M
authors: SM
authors: Huse
authors: Ulandt U
authors: UU
authors: Kim
authors: Erica
authors: E
authors: Lasek-Nesselquist
authors: Gerard
authors: G
authors: Manning
authors: Anuranjini
authors: A
authors: Nigam
authors: Julie E J
authors: JE
authors: Nixon
authors: Daniel
authors: D
authors: Palm
authors: Nora E
authors: NE
authors: Passamaneck
authors: Anjali
authors: A
authors: Prabhu
authors: Claudia I
authors: CI
authors: Reich
authors: David S
authors: DS
authors: Reiner
authors: John
authors: J
authors: Samuelson
authors: Staffan G
authors: SG
authors: Svard
authors: Mitchell L
authors: ML
authors: Sogin
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D004261:DNA Replication / Q000235:genetics; D005057:Eukaryotic Cells; D022761:Gene Transfer, Horizontal; D017125:Genes, Protozoan; D018503:Genome, Protozoan; D023281:Genomics; D016829:Giardia lamblia / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D053858:Metabolic Networks and Pathways / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D011494:Protein Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012323:RNA Processing, Post-Transcriptional; D015398:Signal Transduction; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D015800:Protozoan Proteins; D011494:Protein Kinases