Ancylostoma caninum Genome Sequencing

The Genome Institute and collaborators are sequencing the dog hookworm, Ancylostoma caninum. Hookworm diseases are extremely common in the tropics and sub-tropics, with a disease burden comparable to measles and exceeding that of diabetes and lung cancer. A. caninum causes disease in dogs resulting often in severe anemia and death. This species, which belongs to the group of parasites most closely related to C. elegans, is a widely used model for hookworm infection.