Home • Pneumocystis jirovecii
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Silver stain of Pneumocystis jiroveci cysts in tissue from an AIDS patient. Obtained from the wikipedia. Image credit: CDC/ Dr. Edwin P. Ewing, Jr. (PHIL #960), 1984.

The genome sequence and gene predictions of Pneumocystis jirovecii were not determined by the JGI, but were Downloaded from NCBI and have been published (Cissé OH et al., 2012). Please note that this copy of the genome is not maintained by the author and is therefore not automatically updated.

Pneumocystis jirovecii is a fungus that causes severe pneumonia in immunocompromised patients.This genome lacks virulence factors and most amino acid biosynthesis enzymes and presents reduced GC content and size. Together with epidemiological observations, these features suggest that P. jirovecii is an obligate parasite specialized in the colonization of human lungs, which causes disease only in immune-deficient individuals. This genome sequence will boost research on this deadly pathogen.

Pneumocystis pneumonia is a major cause of mortality in patients with impaired immune systems. The availability of the P. jirovecii genome sequence allows new analyses to be performed which open avenues to solve critical issues for this deadly human disease.

 

Genome Reference(s)