Genomic analysis of the causative agents of coccidiosis in domestic chickens.

Reid AJ1, Blake DP2, Ansari HR3, Billington K4, Browne HP5, Bryant JM5, Dunn M5, Hung SS6, Kawahara F7, Miranda-Saavedra D8, Malas T3, Mourier T9,Naghra H10, Nair M3, Otto TD5, Rawlings ND11, Rivailler P12, Sanchez-Flores A13, Sanders M5, Subramaniam C4, Tay YL14, Woo Y3, Wu X15, Barrell B5, Dear PH16, Doerig C17, Gruber A18, Ivens AC19, Parkinson J6, Rajandream MA5, Shirley MW4, Wan KL14, Berriman M5, Tomley FM2, Pain A3.

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Abstract

Global production of chickens has trebled in the past two decades and they are now the most important source of dietary animal protein worldwide. Chickens are subject to many infectious diseases that reduce their performance and productivity. Coccidiosis, caused by apicomplexan protozoa of the genus Eimeria, is one of the most important poultry diseases. Understanding the biology of Eimeria parasites underpins development of new drugs and vaccines needed to improve global food security. We have produced annotated genome sequences of all seven species of Eimeria that infect domestic chickens, which reveal the full extent of previously described repeat-rich and repeat-poor regions and show that these parasites possess the most repeat-rich proteomes ever described. Furthermore, while no other apicomplexan has been found to possess retrotransposons, Eimeria is home to a family of chromoviruses. Analysis of Eimeria genes involved in basic biology and host-parasite interaction highlights adaptations to a relatively simple developmental life cycle and a complex array of co-expressed surface proteins involved in host cell binding.

Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.