Trichuris muris
Whipworms (Trichuris sp) are successful gastrointestinal dwelling nematode parasites of many species including man. The human parasite Trichuris trichiura is currently thought to infect up to 1 billion people worldwide resulting in considerable morbidity.
Trichuris muris is very closely related to the human parasite T. trichiura sharing cross reactive antigens. Moreover, it is a remarkably tractable model system for dissecting immune responses and host parasite relationships and is actively being investigated in a number of laboratories worldwide. T. muris is a naturally occurring nematode parasite of mice which resides in the caecum and colon and has a direct oral faecal life cycle. Embryonated eggs are ingested and hatch in the crypts of the large intestine. After undergoing a series of moults, they become adult parasites which mate and release eggs that are shed in the faeces and can develop externally. The adult worms have an unusual niche in that the anterior end burrows through epithelial cells forming syncitial tunnels whereas the posterior end of the worm remains free within the lumen facilitating mating and egg deposition.
Data Downloads
This projects aims to sequence the genome of T. muris using second generation sequencing technologies. DNA is being supplied by Dr Allison Bancroft and Professor Richard Grencis from the University of Manchester as part of our ongoing work on T. muris funded by the Wellcome Trust.
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Data Use Statement
This sequencing centre plans on publishing the completed and annotated sequences in a peer-reviewed journal as soon as possible. Permission of the principal investigator should be obtained before publishing analyses of the sequence/open reading frames/genes on a chromosome or genome scale. See our data sharing policy.
Sequencing enquiries
Please address all sequencing enquiries to: pathinfo@sanger.ac.uk
