Schistosome transcriptome analysis at the cutting edge.
We live in the era of post-genomics, a term that was, until recently, inappropriate when considering the blood flukes of humans because of the relative lack of knowledge of the schistosome genome. The position has, however, changed dramatically following the recent publication of two landmark papers on transcriptome analysis of Schistosoma japonicum and Schistosoma mansoni. In a quantum leap, both studies report on the identification of many novel genes and genes not previously known from schistosomes. The datasets provide new insights into the biology of the schistosomes and offer an opportunity for identification of potential antischistosome vaccine candidates and drug targets. Remarkable recent progress has also been achieved in genomic sequencing, and completed genomes for both species can be expected shortly.
McManus
Donald P
DP
Molecular Parasitology Laboratory, Australian Centre for International and Tropical Health and Nutrition, The Queensland Institute of Medical Research and The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4029, Australia. donM@qimr.edu.au
Hu
Wei
W
Brindley
Paul J
PJ
Feng
Zheng
Z
Han
Ze-Guang
ZG
D000818:Animals; D020224:Expressed Sequence Tags; D016678:Genome; D006801:Humans; D012549:Schistosoma japonicum / Q000235:genetics*; D012550:Schistosoma mansoni / Q000235:genetics*