Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University Inuyama, Aichi, Japan.
Front Genet. 2014 Sep 8;5:301. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2014.00301. eCollection 2014.
As the only group of flukes with dioecism, schistosomes are unique organisms; they not only have intriguing biological and evolutionary aspects but also are responsible for major public health problems in the developing world. Schistosomiasis caused by this fluke affects approximately 210 million people in 76 countries. In order to facilitate the discovery of eradication methods for this disease, fundamental biological outcomes must be made available. Whole genome sequence data represent one such resource applicable to discovering eradication methods and measures. Herein, I describe three remarkable chromosomal changes and briefly discuss the differentiation of the Asian and African groups of this parasite taxon. Chromosomal data and evolutionary aspects will enable us to exploit genomic information for advancing schistosome studies.
作为唯一具有雌雄同体的吸虫类群，血吸虫是一种独特的生物；它们不仅具有有趣的生物学和进化方面，而且还导致发展中国家的主要公共卫生问题。这种吸虫引起的血吸虫病影响了 76 个国家的大约 2.1 亿人。为了促进发现这种疾病的根除方法，必须提供基本的生物学成果。全基因组序列数据就是这样一种可用于发现根除方法和措施的资源。在此，我描述了三个显著的染色体变化，并简要讨论了该寄生虫分类群的亚洲和非洲组的分化。染色体数据和进化方面将使我们能够利用基因组信息来推进血吸虫研究。
