Nanopore sequencing improves the draft genome of the human pathogenic amoeba Naegleria fowleri.

ABSTRACT: Naegleria fowleri is an environmental protist found in soil and warm freshwater sources worldwide and is known for its ability to infect humans and causing a rapid and mostly fatal primary amoebic meningoencephalitis. When contaminated water enters the nose, the facultative parasite follows the olfactory nerve and enters the brain by crossing the cribriform plate where it causes tissue damage and haemorrhagic necrosis. Although N. fowleri has been studied for several years, the mechanisms of pathogenicity are still poorly understood. Furthermore, there is a lack of knowledge on the genomic level and the current reference assembly is limited in contiguity. To improve the draft genome and to investigate pathogenicity factors, we sequenced the genome of N. fowleri using Oxford Nanopore Techno

SUBMITTER: Liechti N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6831594 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature