Draft Genome of the Liver Fluke Fasciola gigantica

Fascioliasis, a neglected foodborne disease caused by liver flukes
(genus Fasciola), affects more than 200 million people
worldwide. Despite technological advances, little is known about the
molecular biology and biochemistry of these flukes. We present the
draft genome of Fasciola gigantica for
the first time. The assembled draft genome has a size of ∼1.04
Gb with an N50 and N90 of 129 and 149 kb, respectively. A total of
20 858 genes were predicted. The de novo repeats
identified in the draft genome were 46.85%. The pathway included all
of the genes of glycolysis, Krebs cycle, and fatty acid metabolism
but lacked the key genes of the fatty acid biosynthesis pathway. This
indicates that the fatty acid required for survival of the fluke may
be acquired from the host bile. It may be hypothesized that the relatively
larger F. gigantica genome did not
evolve through genome duplications but rather is interspersed with
many repetitive elements. The genomic information will provide a comprehensive
resource to facilitate the development of novel interventions for
fascioliasis control.