Neglected Tropical Diseases in the Post-Genomic Era

CARLOS ANDRES BUSCAGLIA; JESSICA KISSINGER; AGÜERO, F.

TRENDS IN GENETICS

ELSEVIER SCIENCE LONDON

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2015 vol. 31 p. 539 - 555

0168-9525

Neglected Tropical Diseases are a group of viral, bacterial and eukaryotic parasitic diseases especially endemic in low-income populations, with a large health and economic impact on both the developing and developed world. The structure and dynamics of the genomes of the organisms causing these diseases, as well as the modes of expression, exchange and transmission of their genetic information often deviate from those found in classical, model organism-centric textbooks. Here, we assess the role of basic and applied genetic research in our understanding of key aspects of their biology and evolution, and discuss the impact of novel high-throughput approaches spawned by the post-genomic era in the development of next-generation drugs, vaccines, epidemiology and/or diagnostic tools for these important pathogens.