UMass Medical researchers unravel hookworm genome, could deal blow to parasite

WORCESTER A group that includes local researchers has sequenced the genome of a hookworm that infects both humans and animals, an advance that could add to efforts to develop vaccines and treatments to defeat the parasite.

The scientists reported Monday in the journal Nature Genetics that they identified nearly 31,000 active genes in the tiny blood-sucking worm known as Ancylostoma ceylanicum. They also identified a family of genes that might be important to a worm's infection process.

Raffi V. Aroian, a professor in molecular medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, said he and lead author Erich M. Schwarz, a senior research associate at Cornell University, conceived the project to better understand a class of parasites that causes anemia and suffering.

"Know thy enemy, right?" Mr. Aroian said. "In other words, we learned a lot by sequencing the human genome. Modern medicine wouldn't be where it's at at all without the genome. In our case, it's knowing the genome of the parasite so we can determine what its potential weaknesses are."

A 2014 study estimated nearly 439 million people worldwide were infected with hookworms, small creatures that can live for years in the bodies of hosts. Infection is mostly found in tropical developing countries with poor sanitation.

Larvae, or immature worms, live in soil contaminated by feces from infected people. The larvae can burrow into the bare feet of humans, then travel to the intestines where they feed on blood, mature, mate and produce eggs.

Infected humans can develop anemia. Hookworm infection also can stunt the growth and development of children.

Although a drug exists to treat infection, hookworm infection is so common in parts of the world that it is thought to have a negative effect on economies.

The new genome sequence is not the first time a hookworm's genetic code has been unraveled. A large international group of researchers reported last year they had sequenced the genome of Necator americanus, the type of hookworm most commonly responsible for human infection.

But the new research concerns a hookworm known to afflict a number of mammals, not just people, said Mr. Schwarz.

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UMass Medical researchers unravel hookworm genome, could deal blow to parasite