title: Pathogenomics: an updated European Research Agenda.
abstract: The emerging genomic technologies and bioinformatics provide novel opportunities for studying life-threatening human pathogens and to develop new applications for the improvement of human and animal health and the prevention, treatment, and diagnosis of infections. Based on the ecology and population biology of pathogens and related organisms and their connection to epidemiology, more accurate typing technologies and approaches will lead to better means of disease control. The analysis of the genome plasticity and gene pools of pathogenic bacteria including antigenic diversity and antigenic variation results in more effective vaccines and vaccine implementation programs. The study of newly identified and uncultivated microorganisms enables the identification of new threats. The scrutiny of the metabolism of the pathogen in the host allows the identification of new targets for anti-infectives and therapeutic approaches. The development of modulators of host responses and mediators of host damage will be facilitated by the research on interactions of microbes and hosts, including mechanisms of host damage, acute and chronic relationships as well as commensalisms. The study of multiple pathogenic and non-pathogenic microbes interacting in the host will improve the management of multiple infections and will allow probiotic and prebiotic interventions. Needless to iterate, the application of the results of improved prevention and treatment of infections into clinical tests will have a positive impact on the management of human and animal disease. The Pathogenomics Research Agenda draws on discussions with experts of the Network of Excellence "EuroPathoGenomics" at the management board meeting of the project held during 18-21 April 2007, in the Villa Vigoni, Menaggio, Italy. Based on a proposed European Research Agenda in the field of pathogenomics by the ERA-NET PathoGenoMics the meeting's participants updated the established list of topics as the research agenda for the future.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Molekulare Infektionsbiologie, Röntgenring 11, 97070 Würzburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Demuth
authors.forename: Yair
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Aharonowitz
authors.forename: Till T
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Bachmann
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Blum-Oehler
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Buchrieser
authors.forename: Antonello
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Covacci
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Dobrindt
authors.forename: Levente
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Emödy
authors.forename: Arie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: van der Ende
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ewbank
authors.forename: Luis Angel
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Fernández
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Frosch
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: García-Del Portillo
authors.forename: Michael S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Gilmore
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Glaser
authors.forename: Werner
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Goebel
authors.forename: Seyed E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Hasnain
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Heesemann
authors.forename: Khalid
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Islam
authors.forename: Timo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Korhonen
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maiden
authors.forename: Thomas F
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Meyer
authors.forename: Cesare
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Montecucco
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Oswald
authors.forename: Julian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Parkhill
authors.forename: M Graciela
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Pucciarelli
authors.forename: Eliora
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ron
authors.forename: Catharina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Svanborg
authors.forename: Bernt Eric
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Uhlin
authors.forename: Sun Nyunt
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Wai
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wehland
authors.forename: Jörg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hacker
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology*; D019992:Databases as Topic; D005060:Europe; D018014:Gene Transfer Techniques; D023281:Genomics / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D012106:Research / Q000639:trends