Schistosoma comparative genomics: integrating genome structure, parasite biology and anthelmintic discovery

Martin Thomas Swain, Denis Mikhailovich Larkin, Conor R. Caffrey, Stephen J. Davies, Alex Loukas, Patrick J. Skelly, Karl Francis Hoffmann

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

31 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Schistosoma genomes provide a comprehensive resource for identifying the molecular processes that shape parasite evolution and for discovering novel chemotherapeutic or immunoprophylactic targets. Here, we demonstrate how intragenus and intergenus comparative genomics can be used to drive these investigations forward, illustrate the advantages and limitations of these approaches and review how post-genomic technologies offer complementary strategies for genome characterisation. Although sequencing and functional characterisation of other schistosome/platyhelminth genomes continues to expedite anthelmintic discovery, we contend that future priorities should equally focus on improving assembly quality, and chromosomal assignment, of existing schistosome/platyhelminth genomes.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)555-564
Number of pages10
JournalTrends in Parasitology
Volume27
Issue number12
Early online date23 Oct 2011
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2011

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