ABSTRACT
We are in the midst of a transformation in the study of eukaryotic parasites, a transformation sparked by the vast amounts of genome sequence data becoming available for many of the species in this diverse group. In this review, we summarize the current state of parasite genomics, provide details concerning the available drug and
11.1 Introduction ................................................................................................. 194 11.2 The Current Status of Parasite Genomics ................................................... 194 11.3 The Current Status of Antiparasitic Drug and Vaccine
Research and Development .........................................................................202 11.4 Comparative Genomics of Malaria Parasites and Drug
and Vaccine Design .....................................................................................205 11.5 Comparative Genomics of Other Apicomplexans and Drug
and Vaccine Design .....................................................................................208 11.6 Comparative Genomics of Luminal Parasites and Drug
and Vaccine Design .....................................................................................209 11.7 Comparative Genomics of Trypanosomatid Parasites and Drug
and Vaccine Design ..................................................................................... 211 11.8 Comparative Genomics of Parasitic Helminths and Drug
and Vaccine Design ..................................................................................... 212 11.9 Summary ..................................................................................................... 213 References .............................................................................................................. 214
vaccine therapies for the diseases caused by these parasites, and describe the roles comparative genomics is playing in the design of new drugs and vaccines against them. These roles include the identification of various metabolic pathways or proteins that might serve as therapeutic targets by virtue of their presence in the parasite but absence in humans; elucidation of the causes of drug resistance and antibiotic sensitivity; identification of genes expressed in a stage-specific fashion; and detection of potential antigens for vaccine development. The future is bright for comparative genomic analysis of parasites, and the development of several public-private partnerships that foster collaborations among scientists in academia, big pharmaceutical companies, and the public sector provide new hope for the development of the next generation of antiparasitic therapeutics.
