One of the most fascinating anti-predator responses displayed by parasites is that of hairworms (Nematomorpha). Following the ingestion of the insect host by fish or frogs, the parasitic worm is able to actively exit both its host and the gut of the predator. Using as a model the hairworm, Paragordius tricuspidatus, (parasitizing the cricket Nemobius sylvestris) and the fish predator Micropteru...

The dramatic recent rise in the incidence of allergic or autoimmune inflammatory diseases in the West has been proposed to reflect the lack of appropriate priming of the immune response by infectious agents such as parasitic worms during childhood. Consistent with this, there is increasing evidence supporting an inverse relationship between worm infection and T helper type 1/17 (Th1/17)-based i...

The genomes of more than 20 helminths have now been sequenced. Here we perform a meta-analysis of all sequenced genomes of nematodes and Platyhelminthes, and attempt to address the question of what are the defining characteristics of helminth genomes. We find that parasitic worms lack systems for surface antigenic variation, instead maintaining infections using their surfaces as the first line ...

Helminth is a nonphylogenetic term that refers to multicellular animals (or metazoans) that have adopted a parasitic lifestyle in mammalian hosts. They are more commonly referred to as parasitic worms. These worms generally (with the exception of Strongyloides stercoralis) cannot replicate within the host, and they have evolved distinct methods to co-exist with their host through the activation...

In most free-living eukaryotes studied thus far, heme is synthesized from a series of intermediates through a well defined evolutionarily conserved pathway. We found that free-living worms, including the model genetic organism Caenorhabditis elegans, and parasitic helminths are unable to synthesize heme de novo, even though these animals contain hemoproteins that function in key biological proc...

Intestinal parasites are one of the leading public health problems worldwide, with an incidence 24% worldwide and 45-65% in Indonesia. parasites, especially intestinal worms, or soil-transmitted helminths (STH), significantly contribute to gastrointestinal diseases worldwide. worm infections occur rural urban populations, people who have habit eating dirty hands, using unhygienic toilets, consu...

Parasitic nematodes infect hundreds of millions of people and farmed livestock. Further, plant parasitic nematodes result in major crop damage. The pipeline of therapeutic compounds is limited and parasite resistance to the existing anthelmintic compounds is a global threat. We have developed an INVertebrate Automated Phenotyping Platform (INVAPP) for high-throughput, plate-based chemical scree...