Discussion

Schistosome parasites locate a definitive mammalian host, penetrate the skin barrier, enter a blood or lymphatic vessel, pass through the lungs and eventually establish residency in the vasculature surrounding the liver, intestines or bladder. During this time, schistosomes evade damaging immune responses, feed on host blood, absorb biomolecules across their protective tegument and interact with diverse tissues and cells as they undergo complex developmental processes. This programme of evolutionary fine-tuned events leads to sexual maturation of the dimorphic adults culminating in the cross-tissue transmission of the pathogenic egg.
My laboratory is interested in identifying parasite gene products that are associated with these processes and have focused our studies on molecules that may have a role in invasion, migration, intravascular survival and egg transmission. Parallel to this interest, we are also fascinated by the underlying molecular, genetic and epigenetic mechanisms utilised by schistosome parasites that enable long-term survival in the bloodstream of immuno-competent hosts.
In this talk, I will describe how diverse poly-omics approaches can be used to study schistosome epigenetic components and detail how this basic biological information can be exploited in our search for new anthelmintics.