Schistosomes and snails: a molecular encounter.

Biomphalaria glabrata snails play an integral role in the transmission of Schistosoma mansoni, the causative agent for human schistosomiasis in the Western hemisphere. For the past two decades, tremendous advances have been made in research aimed at elucidating the molecular basis of the snail/parasite interaction. The growing concern that there is no vaccine to prevent schistosomiasis and only one effective drug in existence provides the impetus to develop new control strategies based on eliminating schistosomes at the snail-stage of the life cycle.

Non-random organization of the Biomphalaria glabrata genome in interphase Bge cells and the spatial repositioning of activated genes in cells co-cultured with Schistosoma mansoni.

Biomphalaria glabrata is a major intermediate host for the parasitic trematode Schistosoma mansoni, a causative agent of human schistosomiasis. To decipher the molecular basis of this host-parasite interaction, the Bge embryonic cell line provides a unique in vitro model system to assess whether interactions between the snail and parasite affect the cell and genome biology in either organism. The organization of the B.

FISH on chromosomes derived from the snail model organism Biomphalaria glabrata.

The application of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) for the mapping of single copy genes onto homologous chromosome has been integral to vast number genome sequencing projects, such as that of mouse and human. The chromosomes of these organisms are well-studied and are the staple resource of most of the early studies conducted in cytogenetics. However, there are now protocols for analyzing FISH probes in a number of different organisms on both metaphase and interphase chromosomes.