Lena Week 11
Contents |
The Genome of the Kinetoplastid Parasite, Leishmania major.
Vocabulary
1.)promastigote: the flagellate stage of a trypanosomatid protozoan, as that of any of the Leishmania parasites.
- The American Heritage® Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2007, 2004 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
- http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/promastigote
2.)amastigote: the nonflagellate, intracellular, morphologic stage in the development of certain hemoflagellates, resembling the typical adult form of Leishmania.
- Dorland's Medical Dictionary for Health Consumers. © 2007 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.
- http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/amastigote
3.)phagolysome:a cellular body that is formed by the union of a phagosome or ingested particle with a lysosome that contains hydrolytic enzymes.
- The American Heritage® Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2007, 2004 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
- http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/phagolysosome
4.)macrophage: any of the large, mononuclear, highly phagocytic cells derived from bone marrow cells, promonocytes, the progeny of which, the monocytes, enter the bloodstream, where they stay for a few days before entering the tissues and developing into macrophages. They are components of the monocyte-macrophage system. Macrophages are usually immobile but become actively mobile when stimulated by inflammation, immune cytokines and microbial products. They are an important class of antigen presenting cells (APCs).
- Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary, 3 ed. © 2007 Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved
- http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/macrophage
5.)glycoconjugate: any of the complex molecules containing glycosidic linkages, such as glycolipids, glycopeptides, oligosaccharides, or glycosaminoglycans.
- Dorland's Medical Dictionary for Health Consumers. © 2007 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.
- http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/glycoconjugate
6.)aneuploid: Having a chromosome number that is not a multiple of the haploid number for the species.
- The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
- http://www.thefreedictionary.com/aneuploid
7.)pseudogene:a defective segment of DNA that resembles a gene but cannot be transcribed.
- The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
- http://www.thefreedictionary.com/pseudogene
8.)ortholog: any gene found in two or more species that can be traced to a common ancestor; specif. one of two homologous genes that is descended from a common ancestor, but which has evolved in a different way.
- Dictionary.com's 21st Century Lexicon
Copyright © 2003-2013 Dictionary.com, LLC
9.)synteny: the presence of two or more genes on the same chromosome.
- Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
10.)trypanosome: any minute, flagellate protozoan of the genus Trypanosoma, parasitic in the blood or tissues of humans and other vertebrates, usually transmitted by insects, often causing serious diseases, as African sleeping sickness in humans, and many diseases in domestic animals.
- Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
11.)proteolytic: the breaking down of proteins into simpler compounds, as in digestion.
- Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Significance
Leishmania is a pathogenic parasite that causes range a diseases in humans--these maladies are collectively termed the leishmaniases. This paper looked at the genome of Leishmania major, paying particular attention to molecular processes. Synthesis of complex surfaces glycoconjugates, an essential aspect of host-parasite interaction in the Leishmania species was examined in depth.
Methods
The researchers used shot-gun sequencing. Shot gun sequencing breaks up DNA into many fragments, then sequences them into what are called reads. A researcher would perform this several times to get many reads, then a computer uses the overlapping ends of reads to generate a full and continuous sequence. In this project, large-insert clones and purified chromosomal DNA were shotgun sequenced.
