Journal
CRITICAL REVIEWS IN BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
Volume 52, Issue 3, Pages 254-273Publisher
TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
DOI: 10.1080/10409238.2017.1290043
Keywords
Metabolism; systems-based approaches; host invasion; apicomplexan genomics; parasite genomics; host cell modulation; genomics of apicomplexan parasites
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Funding
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research [CIHR-MOP 84556]
- NIAID of the National Institutes for Health [R21AI126110]
- NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES [R21AI126110] Funding Source: NIH RePORTER
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The increasing prevalence of infections involving intracellular apicomplexan parasites such as Plasmodium, Toxoplasma, and Cryptosporidium (the causative agents of malaria, toxoplasmosis, and cryptosporidiosis, respectively) represent a significant global healthcare burden. Despite their significance, few treatments are available; a situation that is likely to deteriorate with the emergence of new resistant strains of parasites. To lay the foundation for programs of drug discovery and vaccine development, genome sequences for many of these organisms have been generated, together with large-scale expression and proteomic datasets. Comparative analyses of these datasets are beginning to identify the molecular innovations supporting both conserved processes mediating fundamental roles in parasite survival and persistence, as well as lineage-specific adaptations associated with divergent life-cycle strategies. The challenge is how best to exploit these data to derive insights into parasite virulence and identify those genes representing the most amenable targets. In this review, we outline genomic datasets currently available for apicomplexans and discuss biological insights that have emerged as a consequence of their analysis. Of particular interest are systems-based resources, focusing on areas of metabolism and host invasion that are opening up opportunities for discovering new therapeutic targets.
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