A draft genome for the African crocodilian trypanosome Trypanosoma grayi

The availability of genome sequence data has greatly enhanced our understanding of the adaptations of trypanosomatid parasites to their respective host environments. However, these studies remain somewhat restricted by modest taxon sampling, generally due to focus on the most important pathogens of humans. To address this problem, at least in part, we are releasing a draft genome sequence for the African crocodilian trypanosome, Trypanosoma grayi ANR4. This dataset comprises genomic DNA sequences assembled de novo into contigs, encompassing over 10,000 annotated putative open reading frames and predicted protein products. Using phylogenomic approaches we demonstrate that T. grayi is more closely related to Trypanosoma cruzi than it is to the African trypanosomes T. brucei, T. congolense and T. vivax, despite the fact T. grayi and the African trypanosomes are each transmitted by tsetse flies. The data are deposited in publicly accessible repositories where we hope they will prove useful to the community in evolutionary studies of the trypanosomatids.