Functional and evolutionary analysis of a eukaryotic parasitic genome
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Updated: Sep 29, 2026

Studying Inherited Immunity in a Caenorhabditis elegans Model of Microsporidia Infection
Published on: April 6, 2022
Christian P Vivarès1, Manolo Gouy, Fabienne Thomarat
1Parasitologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, LBP - UMR CNRS 6023, Université Blaise Pascal, 63117 Aubiere Cedex, France.
Abstract:
The DNA sequences of the 11 linear chromosomes of the approximately 2.9 Mbp genome of Encephalitozoon cuniculi, an obligate intracellular parasite of mammals, include approximately 2000 putative protein-coding genes. The compactness of this genome is associated with the length reduction of various genes. Essential functions are dependent on a minimal set of genes. Phylogenetic analysis supports the hypotheses that microsporidia are related to fungi and have retained a mitochondrion-derived organelle, the mitosome.
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