Computational prediction of essential genes in an unculturable endosymbiotic bacterium, Wolbachia of Brugia malayi.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Wolbachia (wBm) is an obligate endosymbiotic bacterium of Brugia malayi, a parasitic filarial nematode of humans and one of the causative agents of lymphatic filariasis. There is a pressing need for new drugs against filarial parasites, such as B. malayi. As wBm is required for B. malayi development and fertility, targeting wBm is a promising approach. However, the lifecycle of neither B. malayi nor wBm can be maintained in vitro. To facilitate selection of potential drug targets we computationally ranked the wBm genome based on confidence that a particular gene is essential for the survival of the bacterium.

Results

wBm protein sequences were aligned using BLAST to the Database of Essential Genes (DEG) version 5.2, a collection of 5,260 experimentally identified

SUBMITTER: Holman AG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2794283 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature