A pathogenic protozoan that causes acute gastroenteritis and diarrhea in humans. Cryptosporidium hominis TU502

High throughput sequencing, assembly and annotation of the Crytosporidium hominis strain TU502 genome is being performed at Virgnia Commonwealth University, Center for the Study of Biological Complexity. A 12-fold whole genome shotgun sequence coverage and a ~8-fold genome coverage with BAC clones was generated. The genome of this organism is comprised of approximately 9.2 Mb distributed throughout its 8 chromosomes. More than 99% of the genome has been assembled into contigs and is in the process of being annotated. The genome sequence of C. hominis shows features consistent with its life cycle as an obligate parasite. This organism lacks the genes necessary for the production of a number of biochemical building block such as nucleotides and amino acids. To compensate for this lack, the genome contains a large number of transporter or transporter-like genes. Comparative genomic analysis with the closely related animal and human pathogen, Cryptosporidium parvum, will provide information on the genes involved in species specificity. The C. hominis strain TU502 whole genome shotgun sequencing project has been submitted to GenBank.