Parasite's Genome Reveals Clues for Treatment of Ascariasis

The nuclear genome of the giant intestinal roundworm, Ascaris suum, has been mapped out by Dr. Aaron Jex and Prof. Robin Gasser from the University of Melbourne. A. suum infects only pigs, but it is closely related to Ascaris lumbricoides, which causes ascariasis to humans. Thus, the genome of A. suum reveals hints on how to treat ascariasis, which affects more than one billion people from China, South East Asia, South America, and Africa.

"Sequencing the genome of Ascaris suum is a major step towards controlling the infection it causes because the more we know about the genetics of the parasite and how it works, the better we can fight it with novel treatments," Dr. Jex said.

"From the genome sequence we have identified five high priority drug targets that are likely to be relevant for many other parasitic worms. New treatments are urgently needed and genome-guided drug target discovery is ideal for identifying targets that selectively kill the parasite and not the host…We also identified key information on how the parasite hides from the immune system, which is essential for any future vaccine development," he added.

Know more at http://newsroom.melbourne.edu/news/n-672.