两个国际研究小组已经确定了引起血吸虫病的2种扁形寄生虫完整基因序列.曼氏血吸虫和日本血吸虫的基因组序列是冠轮动物这大类动物中第一个被测序的生物体,冠轮动物也包括其他自由生活和寄生生活的分节动物,如蚯蚓.
　　这项研究的资金部分来自于美国过敏症和传染病研究院（ NIAID）,此院是国家卫生研究院（ NIH ）的一部分,研究成果现已经刊登在最新一期的Nature杂志上.由测序获得的基因组信息,暗示了通过针对性的设计寄生虫所需要的特异蛋白或其他基因产物的药物或者化合物以寻找它的宿主    “慢性血吸虫病使全球数以百万计的热带国家人们生活悲惨,并可能导致死亡.”美国NIAID的主任安东尼福西博士说,“贫血,发烧,疲劳等症状使患者难以工作或上学”,他补充说. “迫切需要新的药物和其他干预措施以减少疾病的影响；慢性血吸虫病降低生活质量,也影响经济发展.”

博川推荐原文检索：
【Abstract】
  Genomes of Parasitic Flatworms Decoded
  Information Could Lead to New Treatments for Schistosomiasis
  Two international research teams have determined the complete genetic sequences of two species of parasitic flatworms that cause schistosomiasis, a debilitating condition also known as snail fever. Schistosoma mansoni and Schistosoma japonicum are the first sequenced genomes of any organism in the large group called Lophotrochozoa, which includes other free-living and parasitic flatworms as well as segmented roundworms, such as the earthworm.
  The research was supported in part by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and is published in the current issue of Nature. The genomic information obtained through these sequencing projects suggests ways to design drugs or other compounds targeted specifically at proteins or other gene products required by the parasite to find or survive in its human or snail host.
  Chronic infection with Schistosoma parasites makes life miserable for millions of people in tropical countries around the globe, and can lead to death,” says NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D. Anemia, fever, fatigue and other symptoms can make it difficult for sufferers to work or go to school, he adds. “New drugs and other interventions are badly needed to reduce the impact of a disease that lowers quality of life and slows economic development.”
  原文链接"A key step for the future will be to identify the cellular pathways that are affected by these cyclic peptide原:
http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/news/newsreleases/2009/schisto_genomes.htm

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