Schistosoma japonicum genome sequencing project. Schistosoma japonicum strain:Anhui isolate

Genomic DNA was extracted from ~1,000 mixed, outbred adult male and female S. japonicum, perfused from rabbits infected with cercariae released by naturally infected snails collected from an endemic focus in Anhui Province, China Schistosoma japonicum, Asian blood fluke, a parasitic flatworm of significant public health importance in East Asia, particularly in China and the Philippines. Schistosoma cause this chronic and debilitating disease that afflicts over 200 million people in 76 tropical and sub-tropical countries. Burdens of morbidity are high and schistosomiasis may contribute to several hundred thousand deaths annually. And it is a major disease risk for 66 million people living in southern China. Approximately one million people in China, and more than 1.7 million bovines and other mammals are still currently infected. The S. japonicum genome is of fundamental interest because its relatively small number of genes (13,469 protein coding genes encoded by the ~397 Mbp genome) support a complex life history that includes two parasitic phases, during which it infects distinct metazoan hosts (mammal and mollusc), as well as free-living phases in freshwater habitats. Furthermore, this is the first entire genome sequence reported for any parasitic flatworm and also the first from any lophotrochozoan. The S. japonicum genome thus provides a unique insight into the evolution of this large superphylum. The genomic information presented here will serve as a valuable molecular platform to facilitate development of new treatments and diagnostics for schistosomiasis and effective interventions of schistosome transmission.