NEW YORK, Oct. 3 (GenomeWeb News) - Scientists at the Institute for Genomic Research have sequenced the genome of Trichomonas vaginalis, the parasite that causes vaginitis, TIGR said yesterday.
The genome was five times larger than scientists originally thought it would be before the sequencing began. Scientists are not yet sure whether this is because of the presence of a particularly large number of coded genes, or whether the genome simply has a lot of repetitive sequences.
T. vaginalis is of particular interest in North America because it is the most prevalent parasite on the continent, where it infects 5 million people each year. It also helps to transmit HIV.
