Trends in parasitology最新文献

Chagas' disease remains one of the most neglected vector-borne infections in the Americas, with transmission shaped by the extraordinary ecological and evolutionary diversity of triatomine bugs. Unlike mosquitoes and ticks, whose genomic resources now guide functional studies and control strategies, triatomines have long remained underexplored. Recent advances in long-read sequencing and chromosome-level assemblies are beginning to change this landscape, enabling investigation of key traits such as domiciliation, dispersal, feeding behavior, and insecticide resistance. Yet critical gaps persist, including limited species representation, scarce transcriptomic resources, and the near absence of genome editing or population-scale data. Triatomine genomics now stands at a decisive turning point, offering unprecedented opportunities to inform surveillance and transform vector control strategies.

Recent studies have revealed a positive correlation between the presence of the Midichloria mitochondrii endosymbiont and Borrelia species in the tick vector, suggesting potential interactions that may influence pathogen infection and the transmission dynamics of Lyme borreliosis. This article discusses the possible mechanistic pathways underlying these interactions.

Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) has emerged as a leading approach for deciphering the complexity and heterogeneity of RNA transcripts among individual cells. The technique has revolutionized helminthology by offering critical insights into helminth cell and developmental biology, host-helminth interactions, and the underlying mechanisms involved in the immunopathology of helminth infections. scRNA-seq facilitates the identification of novel anti-helminth targets for therapeutic and prophylactic intervention. This review presents an overview of scRNA-seq and highlights its applications in the field of helminthology. Despite certain limitations and challenges, the technique has the potential for further improvement and integration with other methodologies, such as single-cell multi-omics, showing a promising perspective in transforming helminth research.

The peptidome mimicry hypothesis (PMH) builds on the principle that vertebrate immunity recognizes peptides absent from the host proteome. It extends this idea to predict host-parasite coevolution outcomes, systematic 'missing peptides', the narrow host specificity of many parasites, and the higher susceptibility of some interspecies hybrids to infection. PMH proposes that long-term coevolution reduces parasite peptide vocabularies and drives convergence toward host repertoires - a pattern that can help to infer a parasite's original host. For example, analyses of SARS-CoV-2 peptide vocabularies have been used to reconstruct the virus's likely host-switching history. Beyond theory, PMH provides an independent and effective way to nominate immunogenic peptide targets for vaccine design, complementary to existing prediction methods.

In the past decade, Cryptosporidium research has progressed considerably, often drawing on Toxoplasma gondii as a molecular model. Yet, accumulating evidence reveals that such cross-species extrapolation risks overlooking the distinctive biology of Cryptosporidium. Notably, marked metabolic differences exist not only between apicomplexans but also within the Cryptosporidium species, particularly between those infecting the stomach (C. andersoni, C. muris) and those targeting the intestines (C. parvum, C. hominis). Pathways such as polyamine and ceramide metabolism illustrate how earlier assumptions, combined with insufficient attention to species delineation, have led to an incomplete and sometimes inaccurate description of Cryptosporidium metabolism. This review examines metabolic needs and capabilities across several Cryptosporidium species to clarify evolutionary differences and highlight promising pathways for therapeutic intervention.

Leishmaniasis, a neglected tropical disease caused by Leishmania parasites, poses an immense global health burden in desperate need of additional foundational and translational research. Fokkens et al. characterize a unique dual kinase-ubiquitin ligase (KUL) protein that is an essential virulence factor for Leishmania mexicana and can be targeted by small-molecule inhibitors.

Ascarid infections, caused by Ascaris lumbricoides (humans), Ascaris suum (domestic pigs and wild boars), Parascaris spp. (equids), Ascaridia galli (poultry) and Toxocara spp. (dogs, foxes, and cats), remain a significant global challenge, substantially impacting human, animal, and environmental health and imposing considerable economic burdens. This review synthesizes recent advances and persistent obstacles in ascarid control, including drug resistance, low-intensity and undetected infections, climate-driven transmission shifts, and diagnostic limitations. Using a One Health lens, we underscore the need for integrated approaches across human, animal, and environmental sectors. We emphasize rethinking helminth control strategies through cross-sector collaboration, community participation, equity, social and behavior change communication (SBCC), environmental risk reduction, and innovative diagnostic and monitoring systems across species and environments.

Human-mediated migrations have reshaped Toxoplasma gondii in South America through massive hybridizations between Old World domestic lineages and wild native populations. We propose that this convergence of domestic adaptation and virulence traits from wild strains underlies the continent's unusually severe disease burden, particularly ocular toxoplasmosis, with major public health implications.

Parasitic nematodes have a significant impact on global health as pathogens of humans and animals. Yet, our understanding of parasite physiology and the function of organs critical for intra-host survival is poor. Most knowledge is derived from Caenorhabditis elegans, a free-living nematode that has limited translatability to parasitic species. Here, we discuss opportunities to fill knowledge gaps in fundamental parasite biology through the study of parasite body plans, tissues, and cells in their biological context, using modern imaging, omics, metabolic models, and in vitro culture systems. Resolving the functions of parasite cells and tissues throughout development and inside their hosts is key to discovering new tools to tackle them.