Sequencing of the human body louse Genome: an important step towards the control of this disease-vector insect. 

The results of the sequencing and analysis of the human body louse genome, which were published on June 21 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), offer new insights into the intriguing biology of this disease-vector insect. The project involved more than 70 international scientists led by Professor Evgeny Zdobnov at the University of Geneva Medical School and the SIB Swiss Institute of
Bioinformatics, with Professor Barry Pittendrigh at the University of Illinois and Professor Ewen Kirkness at the J. Craig Venter Institute.
The human body louse, Pediculus humanus humanus, is an obligate human parasite responsible for the transmission of bacteria that cause relapsing fever, trench fever, and epidemic typhus. The sequencing and comparative analysis of the body louse genome with other sequenced species revealed many features that will enhance our understanding of the relations between disease-vector insects, the pathogens they
transmit, and the affected human hosts.
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