Systematic ID changes

Following extensive consultation with the T. cruzi research community, it has been decided that the systematic ID format should be changed, as follows:

Original ID: Tc00.1047053510817.10

New ID: TcCLB.510817.10

Original ID: Tc00.1047053470169.9

New ID: TcCLB.470169.9

The letters CLB refer to the strain, CL Brener, the 6 digit number represents a contig - so is a chromosome placer - and the smaller number after the period is a gene ID. This brings T. cruzi naming in line with the other TriTryps. It is still possible to search the genome using the original IDs, but please refer to the new IDs in any future publications.

GeneDB, March 2011

The Disease

Protozoan parasites within the species Trypanosoma cruzi are responsible for New World Trypanosomiasis or Chagas' disease. Chagas' disease is endemic throughout South America and Latin America and is transmitted between animal hosts through reduviid bug vectors. Chagas' disease manifests itself in a wide range of both acute and chronic symptoms, causing damage to the nervous system, digestive system and circulatory system. Untreated Chagas' disease frequently results in death from heart failure.

Further information can be found on the World Health Organization web site.

The Genome

The nuclear genome of Trypanosoma cruzi CL Brener is being sequenced by the TIGR-Seattle Biomedical Research Institute-Karolinska Institute T. cruzi Sequencing Consortium (TSK-TSC). Funding for this project is being provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Weatherly et al. 2009 have assembled the T. cruzi CL Brener genome using all available sequence information. The result is a genome of 41 chromosome pairs ranging in size from 78 kb to 2.4 Mb. The non-Esmeraldo-like haplotype are the "P" features and the Esmeraldo-like haplotype are the "S" features. The 23,216 gene models were initially annotated through a system that executes multiple steps of homology search and then determines the best call based on multiple sources of evidence. In a next step, a more refined gene function prediction was implemented by a combination of manual curation of T. cruzi specific genes as well as transfer of manual curation of gene products from their T. brucei or L. major orthologs.

The Database

GeneDB has been funded by Wellcome Trust to provide full curation support for kinetoplastida genomes to meet the needs of the community. New annotations are constantly being added to keep up with published manuscripts and feedback from the Trypanosomatid research community. In collaboration with GeneDB, the EuPathDB genomic sequence data and annotations are regularly deposited on TriTrypDB where they can be integrated with other datasets and queried using customized queries.

Data Release

This annotated genome sequence has been published in El-Sayed et al.2005, Science 309(5733):409-415 and is available for use without restriction. However, the annotation is pro-actively updated and curated.If you find the this resource helpful in your research, acknowledging the project in your publications will help insure its longevity.