Project description:Vanee2010 - Genome-scale metabolic model of
Cryptosporidium hominis (iNV213)
This model is described in the article:
A genome-scale metabolic
model of Cryptosporidium hominis.
Vanee N, Roberts SB, Fong SS, Manque
P, Buck GA.
Chem. Biodivers. 2010 May; 7(5):
1026-1039
Abstract:
The apicomplexan Cryptosporidium is a protozoan parasite of
humans and other mammals. Cryptosporidium species cause acute
gastroenteritis and diarrheal disease in healthy humans and
animals, and cause life-threatening infection in
immunocompromised individuals such as people with AIDS. The
parasite has a one-host life cycle and commonly invades
intestinal epithelial cells. The current genome annotation of
C. hominis, the most serious human pathogen, predicts 3884
genes of which ca. 1581 have predicted functional annotations.
Using a combination of bioinformatics analysis, biochemical
evidence, and high-throughput data, we have constructed a
genome-scale metabolic model of C. hominis. The model is
comprised of 213 gene-associated enzymes involved in 540
reactions among the major metabolic pathways and provides a
link between the genotype and the phenotype of the organism,
making it possible to study and predict behavior based upon
genome content. This model was also used to analyze the two
life stages of the parasite by integrating the stage-specific
proteomic data for oocyst and sporozoite stages. Overall, this
model provides a computational framework to systematically
study and analyze various functional behaviors of C. hominis
with respect to its life cycle and pathogenicity.
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and identified by:
MODEL1507180071.
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Project description:It has been reported that Cryptosporidium parvum, a species of a protozoan frequently isolated from humans and animals, is able to induce digestive adenocarcinoma in a rodent model. Consistently, some epidemiological studies have reported an association with cryptosporidiosis in patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma. However, the correlation between cryptosporidiosis and human digestive cancer remains unclear at this time, and it is not known whether this intracellular parasite, considered an opportunistic agent, is able to induce gastrointestinal malignancies in humans. In order to add new arguments for a probable association between cryptosporidiosis and digestive human cancer, the main aim of this study is to determine prevalence and to identify species of Cryptosporidium among a French digestive cancer population.
Project description:Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a Gram-negative marine bacterium. A limited population of the organisms causes acute gastroenteritis in humans. Almost all of the clinical V. parahaemolyticus isolates exhibit a beta-type hemolysis on Wagatsuma agar, known as the Kanagawa phenomenon (KP). KP is induced by the thermostable direct hemolysin (TDH) produced by the organism, and has been considered a crucial marker to distinguish pathogenic strains from non-pathogenic ones. Since 1996, so-called “pandemic clones”, the majority of which belong to serotype O3:K6, have caused worldwide outbreaks of gastroenteritis. In this study, we used a DNA microarray constructed based on the genome sequence of a pandemic V. parahaemolyticus strain RIMD2210633 to examin the genomic composition of 22 strains of V. parahaemolyticus, including both pathogenic (pandemic as well as non-pandemic) and non-pathogenic strains. Over 85% of the RIMD2210633 genes were conserved in all the strains tested. Many of variably present genes formed gene clusters on the genome of RIMD2210633 and were probably acquired through lateral gene transfer. At least 70 genes over 10 loci were specifically present in the pandemic strains when compared with any of the non-pandemic strains, suggesting that the difference between pandemic and non-pandemic strains is not due to a simple genetic event. Only the genes in the 80-kb pathogenicity island (Vp-PAI) on chromosome II, including two tdh genes and a set of genes for the Type III secretion system, were detected only in the KP-positive pathogenic strains. These results strongly suggest that acquisition of this Vp-PAI was crucial for the emergence of V. parahaemolyticus strains that are pathogenic for humans. Keywords: comparative genomic hybridization, CGH