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Forty years of helminth biochemistry

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 March 2009

J. BARRETT
J. BARRETT*
Affiliation:
IBERS, University of Aberystwyth, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion SY23 3DA, UK
*
*E-mail: [email protected]
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Summary

This review describes some of the developments in helminth biochemistry that have taken place over the last 40 years. Since the early 1970s the main anabolic and catabolic pathways in parasitic helminths have been worked out. The mode of action of the majority of anthelmintics is now known, but in many cases the mechanisms of resistance remain elusive. Developments in helminth biochemistry have depended heavily on developments in other areas. High throughput methods such as proteomics, transcriptomics and genome sequencing are now generating vast amounts of new data. The challenge for the future is to interpret and understand the biological relevance of this new information.

Keywords

helminth biochemistrymetabolic pathwaysproteomics
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 136 , Special Issue 12: Special Centenary Issue – Parasitology 1908–2008 , October 2009 , pp. 1633 - 1642
Copyright
Copyright © 2009 Cambridge University Press

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