title: Functional genomics of Plasmodium falciparum using metabolic modelling and analysis.
abstract: Plasmodium falciparum is an obligate intracellular parasite and the leading cause of severe malaria responsible for tremendous morbidity and mortality particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Successful completion of the P. falciparum genome sequencing project in 2002 provided a comprehensive foundation for functional genomic studies on this pathogen in the following decade. Over this period, a large spectrum of experimental approaches has been deployed to improve and expand the scope of functionally annotated genes. Meanwhile, rapidly evolving methods of systems biology have also begun to contribute to a more global understanding of various aspects of the biology and pathogenesis of malaria. Herein we provide an overview on metabolic modelling, which has the capability to integrate information from functional genomics studies in P. falciparum and guide future malaria research efforts towards the identification of novel candidate drug targets.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Chemical Engineering, Laboratory of Computational Systems Biotechnology, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, CH-1015, Switzerland. stepan.tymoshenko@epfl.ch
authors.forename: Stepan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tymoshenko
authors.forename: Rebecca D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Oppenheim
authors.forename: Dominique
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Soldati-Favre
authors.forename: Vassily
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Hatzimanikatis
mesh_terms: D019295:Computational Biology / Q000379:methods*; D023281:Genomics / Q000379:methods*; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D015800:Protozoan Proteins
keywords: Plasmodium falciparum; central carbon metabolism; constraint-based modelling; flux-balance analysis; in silico gene essentiality; systems biology