Comparative genomics of the pathogenic ciliate Ichthyophthirius multifiliis, its free-living relatives and a host species provide insights into adoption of a parasitic lifestyle and prospects for disease control

Table 2 Important genome statistics

	Ich	T. thermophila
Genome
Total predicted genes	8,096	24,725
Percentage coding	21.0	47.8
Total annotated sequence length^a	47,869,613	103,002,206
Percentage GC	15.9	22.3
Genes
Longest gene	21,958	47,333
Shortest gene	152	119
Total gene length	13,277,109	62,628,433
Average gene length^b	1,639	2,533
Average gene coding sequence	1,243	1,989
Gene density (per 10,000 bp)	16.92	41.6
Percentage genes with introns	79.0	71.4
Exons
Total exon length	10,666,748	49,184,519
Total number of exons	29,479	114,215
Longest exon	11,206	14,389
Shortest exon	2	2
Average exon length	361.8	430.6
Percentage GC	24.1	27.5
Introns
Total number of introns	21,380	89,490
Longest intron	11,437	13,045
Shortest intron	16	18
Average intron length	152.8	162.7
Average introns per gene	2.6	3.6
Percentage GC	12.3	16.1
Intergenic regions
Total intergenic regions	33,985,751	39,886,399
Shortest intergenic region	2	2
Longest intergenic region	42,323	46,152
Average intergenic length	3,650	1,562
Percentage GC	13.9	18.1

^aScaffolds < 2 kb in length were not annotated. ^bNot including 5' and 3' untranslated regions.

ISSN: 1474-760X