Describing genomic fragment of a novel malaria genome
My lab is interested in the evolution and host adaptation of the malaria parasite. We sequenced several genomes of primate malaria. In one of the projects, we found multiple infections with a little described malaria parasite.
We found traces of DNA and assembled a few short contigs from this plasmodium genome found in Gorilla. It seems to be similar to human malaria. Unfortunately, little is known about this species, apart from some polymorphisms in the mitochondria.
In this in silico project, the student will analyse DNA traces and build phylogenetic trees to place it within the plasmodium phylogeny. Next, the aim is to scan other datasets to establish if more events can be found.
The aim is to describe this new species as good as possible.
It is of advantage to have knowledge in Linux or phylogeny.