Molecular Biology of Parasitic Protozoa [Paperback]

Protozoans are interesting creatures for several reasons, not least of which is their ability to live inside or among the cells of their host while resisting the host's cellular defences. The rigours of their lifestyle have resulted in the evolution of some remarkable adaptation at the biochemical level; many parasites have dispensed with entire metabolic pathways, and have evolved complex mechanisms for transmission to new hosts. Parasitic protozoa cause some of the major infectious diseases of humans and domestic animals. In recent years, new molecular biological techniques have opened up the study of the biology of these parasites, and tremendous advances have been made. This book covers this interesting and fast-moving field at an advanced level for which there is no other up-to-date book.

1. Trypanosomatid genetics
2. The three genomes ofPlasmodium
3.Toxoplasmaas a model genetic system
4. Kinetoplast DNA: structure and replication
5. Developmental regulation of gene expression in African trypanosomes
6. Trans-splicing in trypanosomatid protozoa
7. RNA editing. Post-transcriptional restructuring of genetic information
8. Biogenesis of specialized organelles: glycosomes and hydrogenosomes
9. Mechanism of drug resistance in protozoan parasites
10. Glycosyl-phosphatidylinositols and the surface architecture of parasitic protozoa

This compendium has eleven chapters written by leading experts in their field and provides current research information on the molecular biology of parasitic protozoans causative agents of a broad spectrum of diseases around the world. --BIOSIS