Abstract
Eimeria species parasites, close relatives of Toxoplasma gondii, cause the disease coccidiosis in all livestock, most notably poultry. Recent developments in next generation sequencing have supported the production of reference genome sequence assemblies for all seven Eimeria species that infect the chicken and three cryptic species or strains. Genomic analysis has revealed a novel segmented genome structure and identified two Eimeria-specific gene families (ESFs). The projects described here will use a combination of classical genetics, cell biology, next generation sequencing, microscopy and parasite transfection to investigate the impact of these features on Eimeria biology, lifecycle and population structure.
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