Single Molecule Sequencing and Genome Assembly of a Clinical Specimen of Loa loa

Scientists Apply Successful Single Molecule Sequencing and de novo Genome Assembly to a Parasitic Worm that Infects Human Eyes and Skin

Investigators at the Institute for Genome Sciences (IGS) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) used the long-read, single-molecule Pacific Biosciences platform for the successful genome sequencing and de novo assembly of Loa loa round worms from a clinical sample. Their research, which generated the most complete genome sequence of a filarial nematode produced to date, provides a more comprehensive reference genome for this parasite in the hopes of developing better molecular diagnostics to decrease morbidity from filarial nematodes. Their findings appear in today’s issue of BMC Genomics.

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