Niklaus Fankhauser

Comparative Genomics of Membrane Proteins: in Tropical Parasites and Their Hosts Niklaus Fankhauser

In the last five years, a number of genomes from tropical parasites were sequenced. The aim of this project was to perform comparative genomics between different parasites and free-living eukaryotes, with particular emphasis on predicted membrane proteins. From an evolutionary point of view, this provided insights to how different parasites adapted to living within a host. From a pharmacological point of view, the project supported the identification of candidate virulence factors, antigens, and drug targets in parasites. The first part focuses on GPI-anchored proteins, the second one on repeat-containing membrane proteins, and the third part on transporter families.