SXC.HU, EDU WAGETELENBERG
Species: Barber’s pole worm, Haemonchus contortus
Genome size: 320 million base pairs
Scientists are one step closer to fighting antibiotic resistance in a major agricultural parasite, thanks to a genome unveiled last month (August 28) in Genome Biology.
Every year, a little-known nematode called the barber’s pole worm causes hundreds of millions of dollars in livestock losses worldwide. The parasitic worm, named for the pink spiral around its body, feeds on the blood of goats and sheep, causing death in severe cases. A number of drugs exist to combat worm infections, but like many agricultural pests, some barber’s pole worms ...
