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| Author | : David Rollinson |
| Publisher | : Cambridge University Press |
| Total Pages | : 92 |
| Release | : 1999-12-09 |
| Genre | : Science |
| ISBN | : 9780521775748 |
Summarises the current state of various parasite genome projects and the bioinformatics of parasite genome analysis.
| Author | : Luis M. de Pablos |
| Publisher | : Humana |
| Total Pages | : 336 |
| Release | : 2021-07-28 |
| Genre | : Medical |
| ISBN | : 9781071616802 |
This detailed book provides a comprehensive series of innovative research techniques and methodologies applied to the parasite genomics research area, all applying different approaches to analyzing parasite genomes and furthering the study of genetic complexity and the mechanisms of regulation. Beginning with chapters on novel sequencing and the bioinformatics pipeline, the volume continues by exploring diagnostic approaches using genomic tools, host-parasite interactions, as well as the genomics of parasite-derived extracellular vesicles. Written for the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and practical, Parasite Genomics: Methods and Protocols creates a detailed picture of genomic approaches for researchers seeking a better understanding of characterizing parasite nucleic acid content.
| Author | : Gayani Dinusha Batugedara |
| Publisher | : |
| Total Pages | : 20 |
| Release | : 2018 |
| Genre | : Gene expression |
| ISBN | : |
Collectively, our data highlight the importance of spatial genome organization as a mechanism of transcriptional regulation in malaria parasites, and our work directly addresses one of the central outstanding questions in Plasmodium biology, namely, how a parasite with approximately 6,000 genes manages to control gene expression in a coordinated fashion using a limited number of transcription factors.
| Author | : Sara E. Melville |
| Publisher | : Springer Science & Business Media |
| Total Pages | : 454 |
| Release | : 2008-02-02 |
| Genre | : Science |
| ISBN | : 1592597939 |
Parasitic diseases remain a major health problem throughout the world, for both humans and animals. For many of us, our technologically advanced lifestyle has decreased the prevalence and transmission of parasitic diseases, but for the majority of the world’s population, they are ever present in homes, domestic animals, food, or the environment. The study of parasites and parasitic disease has a long and distinguished history. In some cases, it has been driven by the great importance of the presence of the parasite to the community, for example, those that affect our livestock. In other cases, it is clear that applied research has suffered for lack of funding because the parasite affects people with few resources, such as the rural poor in resource-poor countries. These instances include the so-called “neglected diseases,” as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO). Parasites have complicated life cycles, and a thorough understanding of the unique characteristics of a particular parasite species is vital in attempts to avoid, prevent, or cure infection or to alleviate symptoms. Of course, the biological characteristics that each parasite has developed to aid survival and transmission, to avoid destruction by the immune system, and to adapt to a changing environment are of lasting fascination to basic biologists as well. The elegance of these biological systems has ensured that the study of protozoan and metazoan parasites also remains an active field of research in countries where the diseases are not a threat to the population.
| Author | : Christian Frech |
| Publisher | : |
| Total Pages | : 0 |
| Release | : 2013 |
| Genre | : Comparative genomics |
| ISBN | : |
With over 200 million infections and up to one million deaths every year, malaria remains one of the most devastating infectious diseases affecting humans. Over the last few years, complete genome sequences of both human and non-human malaria parasite species have become available, adding comparative genomics to the toolbox of molecular biologists to study the genetic basis of human virulence. In this thesis, I computationally compared the published genomes of seven malaria parasite species with the aim to gain new insights into genes underlying human virulence. This comparison was performed using two complementary approaches. In the first approach, I used whole-genome synteny analysis to find genes present in human but not non-human malaria parasites. In the second approach, I first clustered virulence-associated genes into gene families and then examined these gene families for species-specific differences. Both comparisons resulted in interesting gene lists. Synteny analysis identified three key enzymes of the thiamine (vitamin B1) biosynthesis pathway to be present in human but not rodent malaria parasites, indicating that these two groups of parasites differ in their ability to synthesize vitamin B1 de novo. My gene family classification exposed within the largest and highly divergent surface antigen gene family pir a group of unusually well conserved orthologs, which should be considered as high-priority targets for experimental characterization and vaccine development. In conclusion, this thesis highlights genes and pathways that are different between human and non-human malaria parasites and therefore could play important roles in human virulence. Experimental studies can now be initiated to confirm virulence-associated functions and to explore their potential value for drug and vaccine development.
| Author | : R. Killick-Kendrick |
| Publisher | : Elsevier |
| Total Pages | : 435 |
| Release | : 2012-12-02 |
| Genre | : Medical |
| ISBN | : 0323150578 |
Rodent Malaria reviews significant findings concerning malaria parasites of rodents, including their taxonomy, zoogeography, and evolution, along with life cycles and morphology; genetics and biochemistry; and concomitant infections. This volume is organized into eight chapters and begins by sketching out the history of the discovery of rodent as well as aspects of parasitology, immunology, and chemotherapy. These concepts are investigated two decades following Ignace Vincke's major discovery and Meir Yoeli's successful establishment of the method of cyclical transmission of the parasite. The following chapters focus on the taxonomy and systematics of the subgenus Vinckeia, with reference to the concepts of species and subspecies of animals and the degree to which they apply to malaria parasites, in particular to those of rodents. The discussion then shifts to how the rodent malaria parasites provide a unique insight into the subcellular organization of Plasmodium species, the use of rodent malaria as an experimental model to study immunological responses, and infectious agents that interact with malaria parasites. The book concludes with a chapter on malaria chemotherapy, with emphasis on the value of rodent malaria in antimalarial drug screening and the use of antimalarial drugs as biological probes. This book will be of interest to protozoologists and physicians as well as those from other disciplines including biochemistry, immunology, pharmacology, cell biology, and genetics.
| Author | : Irwin W. Sherman |
| Publisher | : World Scientific |
| Total Pages | : 389 |
| Release | : 2012 |
| Genre | : Medical |
| ISBN | : 1848169035 |
The year 2012 marks the tenth anniversary of the announcement of the genome sequence of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum and that of its mosquito vector Anopheles. The genome sequences were a result of the Plasmodium falciparum Genome Project. This book covers in detail the biology of malaria parasites and the mosquitoes that transmit the disease, how the Genome Project came into being, the people who created it, and the cadre of scientists who are attempting to see the promise of the Project realized. The promise was: a more complete understanding of the genes of the parasite (and its vector) would provide a rational basis for the development of antimalarial drugs and vaccines, allow a better understanding of the regulation of the complex life cycle in the red blood and liver cells of the human, identify the genes the parasite uses to thwart the host immune response and the ways in which the parasite evades cure by drug treatments, as well as leading to more effective measures of control transmission. The hope was that cracking the genetic code of Plasmodium and Anopheles would reveal the biochemical Achilles heel of the parasite and its vector, leading to the development of novel drugs and better methods of control, and by finding the targets of protective immunity could result in the manufacture of effective vaccines. Through a historic approach, this book will allow for those new to the field, or those with insufficient background in the sciences, to have an easier entry point. Even scientists already working in the field may better appreciate how discoveries made in the past can impact the direction of future research.
| Author | : Xueqing Lu |
| Publisher | : |
| Total Pages | : 211 |
| Release | : 2017 |
| Genre | : Chromatin |
| ISBN | : 9780355754599 |
Approximately half of the world's population is at risk of malaria transmission, and this number can be expected to grow as drug resistant strains continue to develop. Among the human infectious Plasmodium species, Plasmodium falciparum causes the most severe and lethal form of malaria. This parasite has an extreme AT-rich genome and a complex life cycle that is likely to be regulated by coordinate changes in gene expression. However, the mechanisms behind this fine-tuned gene expression and regulation system remain elusive. For instance, only a limited number of transcription factors have been identified. Recent studies suggest that epigenetic and post-transcriptional regulation may be used as alternative regulation strategies to compensate for the lack of transcription factors in this parasite. Therefore, in this dissertation work, we further explored the transcriptome, epigenome, and the proteome to better understand the transcriptional mechanisms in P. falciparum. In chapter 1, we demonstrated that genes are usually defined by unique nucleosomal features and that nucleosome landscape alone could be used to identify novel genes in organisms with a nucleotide bias. Next, we investigated nascent RNA expression profiles and observed that the majority of genes are transcribed at the trophozoite stage in response to the open chromatin structure of that stage. These results helped us link chromatin reorganization events to transcriptional activity and highlighted the importance of epigenetic and post-transcriptional regulation in this parasite. Therefore, in the latter two chapters, we further examined the proteasome and transcriptome isolated from both nuclear and cytoplasmic fractions to identify potential chromatin regulators. As a result, we identified a large number of chromatin-associated proteins and lncRNAs that are likely to have important roles in chromatin regulation and post-transcriptional and translational regulations. Collectively, data and results from these studies will become stepping-stones for future malaria studies and further assist the identification of promising anti-malarial drug targets.
| Author | : Serge Morand |
| Publisher | : Cambridge University Press |
| Total Pages | : 503 |
| Release | : 2015-02-26 |
| Genre | : Medical |
| ISBN | : 1107037654 |
By joining phylogenetics and evolutionary ecology, this book explores the patterns of parasite diversity while revealing diversification processes.
| Author | : Emily Rose Ebel |
| Publisher | : |
| Total Pages | : |
| Release | : 2020 |
| Genre | : |
| ISBN | : |
Malaria caused by the replication of Plasmodium falciparum parasites within human red blood cells (RBCs) remains a leading cause of human death by infectious disease. Over several thousand years, high childhood mortality from malaria has produced strong selection for human resistance, mostly via genetic RBC diseases like sickle cell anemia. On much shorter timescales, anti-malarial drugs have also imposed strong selection on genetic drug resistance in malaria parasites. Therefore, the ultimate goal of malaria elimination can be served by developing treatments and drug policies in the context of the evolution of both malaria hosts and parasites. This dissertation explores the history of genetic adaptation in malaria in three parts. First, I use laboratory experiments to demonstrate that natural, 'healthy' variation in human RBCs has substantial effects on P. falciparum growth rate. This identification of novel, protective alleles and phenotypes that are not strongly deleterious may help lead to new malaria therapies. However, I find little evidence that subtle protective variation has experienced positive selection in Africa. Second, I explore the stronger possibility of host adaptation over deeper time scales using ~9,000 protein sequences from 24 species of mammals infected by Plasmodium or related blood parasites. I find that mammalian proteins linked to malaria in the literature have experienced ~3 times more positive selection in the last 100 million years than proteins that have not. Widespread, non-deleterious host adaptation to malaria is therefore possible, but perhaps not on timescales relevant to humans. Finally, I combine new data and historical records from the west African country of Angola to document the extremely rapid evolution of genetic drug resistance in P. falciparum parasites over the last 20 years. This result suggests that changes in drug administration are badly needed in Angola, where malaria deaths are on the rise. An evolutionary approach to the biological control of malaria will allow for the development of therapies that remain efficacious over time.
