Main description:

Leading infectious disease researchers and pharmaceutical scientists comprehensively review the latest genomic technologies and their application to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. The authors' cross-disciplinary approach, with expertise acquired from studying disease-causing viruses, bacteria, fungi, and protozoa, reveals how sequence information from diverse pathogens has uncovered novel targets for drug discovery, antigenic determinants for vaccine development, as well as diagnostic tools. The authors also discuss the application of DNA micoarrays and the impact of genome sequencing comparisons on the discovery and choices of novel drug targets. The result is a better understanding how genomic information can reveal the fundamentals of microbial pathogenesis and how organisms interact with their host environment.

Contents:

Part I. Viruses

Antiviral Drug Target Discovery with DNA Microarrays
Klaus Fruh and Peter Ghazal

Chipping Away at HIV Pathogenesis
Steffney Elise Rought, Roman Sasik, Davey Mitchell Smith, and Jacques Corbeil

Microarray Analysis of Human Papillomavirus Pathogenesis
Yijan Elaine Chang and Laimonis A. Laimins

Ribozymes as Gene Therapeutic Agents for HIV/AIDS: A Potential Paradigm Shift
Gregory C. Fanning, Janet L. Macpherson, and Geoff Symonds

Part II. Bacteria

Genomics and New Technologies Applied to Antibacterial Drug Discovery
Donald T. Moir

Genomics of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex and BCG Vaccines
Marcel A. Behr and Stephen V. Gordon

Bacterial 'Genes-to-Screens' in the Post-Genomic Era
Michael J. Pucci, John F. Barrett, and Thomas J. Dougherty

DNA Microarray Expression Analysis in Antibacterial Drug Discovery
Brian J. Morrow and Karen Joy Shaw

The Influence of Genomics on the Molecular Epidemiology of Nosocomial Pathogens
Richard V. Goering

Borrelia Genomics as a Tool for Studying Pathogenesis and Vaccine Development
Alireza Shamaei-Tousi and Sven Bergstroem

Part III. Fungi

Antifungal Target Discovery and Validation: Lessons from Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Beth DiDomenico and Scott S. Walker

Antifungal Drug Discovery: Old Drugs, New Tools
Marianne D. De Backer, Walter H. M. L. Luyten, and Hugo F. Vanden Bossche

Cryptococcus neoformans: A Molecular Model for the Study of Fungal Pathogenesis and Drug Discovery in the Genomic Era
Jennifer K. Lodge and John R. Perfect

Antifungal Target Selection in Aspergillus nidulans: Using Bioinformatics to Make the Difference
Rosanna Pena-Muralla, Patricia Ayoubi, Marcia Graminha, Nilce M. Martinez-Rossi, Antonio Rossi, and Rolf A. Prade

Functional Genomics ofHistoplasma capsulatum: Dimorphism and Virulence
Glenmore Shearer, Jr.

Gene Finding in Coccidioides immitis: Searching for Immunogenic Proteins
Theo N. Kirkland and Garry T. Cole

Part IV. Protozoa

Toxoplasma gondii: A Model for Evolutionary Genomics and Chemotherapy
Jessica C. Kissinger, Michael J. Crawford, David S. Roos, and James W. Ajioka

The Molecular Biology and Pathogenicity of Entamoeba histolytica
Barbara J. Mann and Brendan J. Loftus

Index