Infectious Disease Genomics

The history and development of infectious disease genomics are discussed in this chapter. HGP must not be restricted to the human genome and should include model organisms including mouse, bacteria, yeast, fruit fly, and worm. The completed or ongoing genome projects will provide enormous opportunities for the discovery of novel vaccines and drug targets against human pathogens as well as the improvement of diagnosis and discovery of infectious agents and the development of new strategies for invertebrate vector control. The polysaccharide capsule is important for meningococci to escape from complement-mediated killing. With the completion of the genome sequence of a virulent MenB strain, a “reverse vaccinology” approach was applied for the development of a universal MenB vaccine by Novartis. The indispensable fatty acid synthase (FAS) pathway in bacteria has been regarded as a promising target for the development of antimicrobial agents. Through a systematic screening of 250,000 natural product extracts, a Merck team identified a potent and broad-spectrum antibiotic, platensimycin, which is derived from Streptomyces platensis. Vector Biology Network was formed to achieve three goals (1) to develop basic tools for the stable transformation of anopheline mosquitoes by the year 2000; (2) to engineer a mosquito incapable of carrying the malaria parasite by 2005; and (3) to run controlled experiments to test how to drive the engineered genotype into wild mosquito populations by 2010. The most immediate impact of a completely sequenced pathogen genome is for infectious disease diagnosis.