Vkuehn Week 11

Journal Club Preparation: Leishmania Major

Genome Reference Paper: The Genome of the Kinetoplastid Parasite, Leishmania major (Reference Genome)

Article Outline

Introduction

• It is important to study the genome of Leishmania major because of the various human diseases that this parasite is capable of causing. If infected by a leishmania parasite a number of diseases can form. Annually there are 2 million cases in 88 tropical and subtropical countries.
• How it infects:
  1. Parasite transmitted by sand flies as proliferative promastigote
  2. Differentiate into nondividing forms before inoculation into vertebrate host
  3. In host macrophages, phagocytose metacyclics --> differentiate into amastigotes (proliferate in phagolysosome)
  4. Leads to host macrophage lysis and infection of other macrophages
  5. Outcome of infection depends on species, host immune system and host genetics
• Interesting to look at genome because of the unique mechanism of regulating transcription which is atypical for eukaryotes

  Leishmania major is considered an "Old World Leishmania" species, meaning it contains 36 chromosome pairs. There are approximately 30 Leishmania species who's gene order is highly conserved.

  Ways in which it differs:

  1. Organization of protein coding genes: long, strand-specific polycistronic clusters
  2. No transcription factors

• This article determined the genome sequence of Leishmania major on a chromosome by chromosome basis. Present the structure and content based on molecular processes such as:
  • chromatin remodeling
  • transcription
  • RNA processing
  • Translation
  • posttranslational modification
  • protein turnover

  Also discuss essential host parasite interface developmental processes

• Template:vkuehn
• Viktoria Kuehn
• Week 1 Assignment
• Class Journal 1
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• Class Journal 2
• Vkuehn Week 2
• Week 3 Assignment
• Class Journal 3
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• Week 4 Assignment
• Class Journal 4
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• Ensembl Database
• Week 6 Assignment
• Class Journal 6
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• Week 7 Assignment
• Class Journal 7
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• Week 8 Assignment
• Class Journal 8
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• Leishmania major
• Week 9 Assignment
• Class Journal 9
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• Week 10 Assignment
• Class Journal 10
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• Leishmania major
• Week 11 Assignment
• Vkuehn Week 11
• Leishmania major Genome Reference Article Presentation
• Vkuehn Week 12
• Week 12 Assignment
• Leishmania major Week 12 Status Report
• Vkuehn Week 13
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• Vkuehn Week 15
• Week 15 Assignment
• Vkuehn Individual Assessment and Reflection