Giardia intestinalis - GCA_000002435.2 Assembly and Gene Annotation

About Giardia intestinalis

Giardia duodenalis, also known as Giardia intestinalis and Giardia lamblia, is a flagellated parasitic protozoan microorganism of the genus Giardia that colonizes the small intestine, causing a diarrheal condition known as giardiasis. The parasite attaches to the intestinal epithelium by a ventral disc, and reproduces via binary fission. G. duodenalis is a non-invasive parasite, that does not spread to other parts of the gastrointestinal tract, but remains confined to the lumen of the small intestine. The parasite exists in two forms; trophozoites and cysts. The microorganism can undergo encystation, transforming into a dormant cyst that enables it to survive outside of its host. Giardia trophozoites are anaerobic, and absorb their nutrients from the intestinal lumen. If the organism is stained, its characteristic pattern resembles the familiar "smiley face" symbol.

Picture credit: Public domain via Wikimedia Commons (Image source)Taxonomy ID 5741

(Text from Wikipedia.)

More information General information about this species can be found in Wikipedia

Assembly

G. intestinalis (also known as G. lamblia) (ATCC 50803) strain WB, clone C6 genome was sequenced to 11.3 coverage using the whole genome shotgun method. It is 12 Mb in size and contains 6488 predicted open reading frames distributed throughout five chromosomes (chromosome polymorphism has been identified in different strains). Karyotyping studies found chromosome sizes to range from 1.6 to over 3.8 Mb. The assembly presented has been imported from INSDC.

Annotation

The annotation has been imported from VEuPathDB.

References

1. Genomic minimalism in the early diverging intestinal parasite Giardia lamblia.
   Morrison HG, McArthur AG, Gillin FD, Aley SB, Adam RD, Olsen GJ, Best AA, Cande WZ, Chen F, Cipriano MJ et al. 2007. Science. 317:1921-1926.

Picture credit: Janice Carr