( e first time on agenome-wide scale in ...)Scientists decipher genome of fungus that can cause life-threatening infections

e first time on a genome-wide scale in fungi, examples of "alternative splicing" and "antisense" transcripts, in which the gene on one strand of the DNA differs from the counterpart gene on the opposite strand. Researchers also identified a high percentage of transposons (moveable elements) within the genome, which may account for the genome rearrangements often observed between different Cryptococcus isolates. TIGR's Fraser says the Cryptococcus genome sequence will benefit a wide range of biomedical research into the increasingly significant human pathogen. Stanford's Hyman says, "The two new Cryoptococcus genome sequences and their analysis provide many targets for vaccine development and drug discovery." Scientists in the C. neoformans research community - including Heitman at Duke and Jennifer Lodge at Saint Louis University (SLU) School of Medicine ?say the project already has given impetus to biomedical research into fungal infections. "The genome project has already had a major impact on basic research of Cryptococcus and will continue to be an enormous factor in the pace of discovery and in the scope of questions that can be asked about the basic biology of Cryptococcus as well as the disease process," says Lodge, who is SLU's Associate Dean for Research and who helped coordinate the C. neoformans genome project. Heitman says, "The genomic sequence and transcriptome analysis are already proving to be invaluable to researchers working to understand and cure this infectious disease." He says the genome sequence has enabled more rapid gene identification, fueled genome wide insertional mutagenesis approaches, and provided the foundation for the development and implementation of a genetic map for quantitative genetics and population analysis. In addition, the accuracy of the gene annotation makes it feasible to use Cryptococcus as a model to study how fungi cause disease. Using the genomic sequence data, the Cryptococcus research community already has designed
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Source:TIGR


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