Transgenesis in parasitic helminths: a brief history and prospects for the future

Authors

M J. Quinzo, Parasitology Reference and Research Laboratory, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain.
M J. Perteguer, Parasitology Reference and Research Laboratory, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain.
P J. Brindley, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Tropical Medicine, and Research Center for Neglected Diseases of Poverty, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, DC, 20037, USA.
A Loukas, Centre for Molecular Therapeutics, Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine, James Cook University, Cairns, QLD, Australia.
J Sotillo, Parasitology Reference and Research Laboratory, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain. javier.sotillo@isciii.es.

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

3-28-2022

Journal

Parasites & vectors

Volume

15

Issue

1

DOI

10.1186/s13071-022-05211-z

Keywords

CRISPR; Genetic edition; Helminths; RNAi; Transgenesis

Abstract

Helminth infections impact the health of hundreds of millions of persons globally and also cause important economic losses in livestock farming. Methodological limitations as well as the low attention given to the study of helminths have impacted biological research and, thus, the procurement of accurate diagnosis and effective treatments. Understanding the biology of helminths using genomic and proteomic approaches could contribute to advances in understanding host-helminth interactions and lead to new vaccines, drugs and diagnostics. Despite the significant advances in genomics in the last decade, the lack of methodological adaptation of current transgenesis techniques has hampered the progression of post-genomic research in helminthology. However, the application of new techniques, such as CRISPR, to the study of trematodes and nematodes has opened new avenues for genome editing-powered functional genomics for these pathogens. This review summarises the historical advances in functional genomics in parasitic helminths and highlights pending limitations that will need to be overcome to deploy transgenesis tools.

APA Citation

Quinzo, M J.; Perteguer, M J.; Brindley, P J.; Loukas, A; and Sotillo, J, "Transgenesis in parasitic helminths: a brief history and prospects for the future" (2022). GW Authored Works. Paper 535.
https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/gwhpubs/535

Department

Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine