Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 30, 2026
15:03
Building a Better Mosquito: Identifying the Genes Enabling Malaria and Dengue Fever Resistance in A. gambiae and A. aegypti Mosquitoes
Published on: July 4, 2007
11.4K
Genomic Advances in Avian Malaria Research
1Center for Conservation Genomics, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Washington, DC, USA.
Trends in Parasitology
|January 16, 2019
Summary
Avian malaria parasites impact bird health and evolution. Genomic data is improving our understanding of these globally distributed haemosporidians, despite past difficulties in data generation.
Area of Science:
- Parasitology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Genomics
Background:
- Haemosporidian parasites cause malaria-like diseases in birds globally.
- These parasites affect host fitness, mortality, and evolutionary history of apicomplexans.
- Genomic resources for avian haemosporidians have been limited compared to mammalian Plasmodium.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review recent genomic advances in avian malaria research.
- To highlight outstanding research questions addressable with new genomic data.
- To underscore the importance of avian haemosporidian genomics.
Main Methods:
- Review of recent genomic studies on avian haemosporidians.
- Discussion of challenges and successes in generating genomic data.
- Identification of future research directions.
Main Results:
- Genomic data generation for avian haemosporidians is improving.
- Advances enable deeper investigation into host specificity, virulence, and dispersal.
- New genomic insights are crucial for understanding apicomplexan evolution.
Conclusions:
- Continued efforts in generating avian haemosporidian genomic data are essential.
- Genomic advancements will unlock new avenues for studying avian malaria.
- This research is vital for both avian health and evolutionary biology.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
02:02Genomics
40.6K
Genomics is the science of genomes: it is the study of all the genetic material of an organism. In humans, the genome consists of information carried in 23 pairs of chromosomes in the nucleus, as well as mitochondrial DNA. In genomics, both coding and non-coding DNA is sequenced and analyzed. Genomics allows a better understanding of all living things, their evolution, and their diversity. It has a myriad of uses: for example, to build phylogenetic trees, to improve productivity and...
40.6K
02:30Genomic Imprinting and Inheritance
37.2K
Diploid organisms inherit genetic material through chromosomes from both parents. Copies of the same gene are known as alleles. In most cases, both alleles are simultaneously expressed and allow various cellular processes to function optimally. If one of the alleles is missing or mutated, the expression of the other allele can compensate; however, this is not true for all genes.
The expression of some genes depends on which parent passed the gene to the offspring, through a phenomenon known as...
The expression of some genes depends on which parent passed the gene to the offspring, through a phenomenon known as...
37.2K
03:21Genome Size and the Evolution of New Genes
9.1K
While every living organism has a genome of some kind (be it RNA, or DNA), there is considerable variation in the sizes of these blueprints. One major factor that impacts genome size is whether the organism is prokaryotic or eukaryotic. In prokaryotes, the genome contains little to no non-coding sequence, such that genes are tightly clustered in groups or operons sequentially along the chromosome. Conversely, the genes in eukaryotes are punctuated by long stretches of non-coding sequence.
9.1K
02:22Overview of Advanced Functional Groups
29.8K
Functional groups are groups of atoms with specific chemical properties that occur within organic molecules and are sometimes denoted as “R”. Functional groups can “functionalize” a compound by enabling it to adopt different physical and chemical properties.
Types of Advanced Functional Groups
The table below summarizes some of the major functional groups in organic chemistry.
29.8K
00:56Extraction: Advanced Methods
1.1K
Metal ions can be separated from one another by complexation with organic ligands–the chelating agent– to form uncharged chelates. Here, the chelating agent must contain hydrophobic groups and behave as a weak acid, losing a proton to bind with the metal. Since most organic ligands used in this process are insoluble or undergo oxidation in the aqueous phase, the chelating agent is initially added to the organic phase and extracted into the aqueous phase. The metal-ligand complex is...
1.1K
02:16Comparing Mitochondrial, Chloroplast, and Prokaryotic Genomes
16.0K
The present-day mitochondrial and chloroplast genomes have retained some of the characteristics of their ancestral prokaryotes and also have acquired new attributes during their evolution within eukaryotic cells. Like prokaryotic genomes, mitochondrial and chloroplast genomes neither bind with histone-like proteins nor show complex packaging into chromosome-like structures, as observed in eukaryotes. Unlike mitotic cell divisions observed in eukaryotic cells, mitochondria and chloroplasts...
16.0K