Discovery of pathways to embryogenesis in pathogenic flatworm parasites using microdissection and transcriptomic technologies

扁虫寄生虫给澳大利亚的动物生产和人类健康造成的损失是巨大的(每年数亿美元)。这项研究将为扁虫如何繁殖和为后代提供生存装备提供新的见解，为开发新的疫苗或药物疗法提供动力。由于这些病原体在澳大利亚的近邻更为严重，该项目将加强澳大利亚在这一领域的国际领导地位。我们的研究将首次为任何寄生虫提供一个免费可用的基因数据库，其中描述了单个寄生虫组织的基因表达谱，这一进展可能会加强控制这些有害疾病的国际努力。

The cost to Australia of flatworm parasites to animal production and human health is substantial (hundreds of millions of dollars per year). This research will give new insights into how flatworms reproduce and equip their progeny for survival, providing impetus for new vaccine or drug therapies to be developed. As these pathogens are more significant in Australia's near neighbours, this project will strengthen Australia's international leadership in this field. Our study will provide, for the first time for any helminth parasite, a freely available genetic database that profiles the gene expression repertoire of individual parasite tissues, a development likely to enhance the international effort in controlling these harmful diseases.