Platyhelminthes

Platyhelminthes

Platyhelminthes (flatworms) have captivated the imagination of biologists for centuries. Indeed, planarian flatworms were used as experimental models decades before Caenorhabditis elegans became known as 'the worm'. Although planarians experienced a brief fall from grace, with the advent of molecular tools, planarians, such as Schmidtea mediterranea, have emerged in recent years as powerful mod...

Transfection of Platyhelminthes

Flatworms are one of the most diverse groups within Lophotrochozoa with more than 20,000 known species, distributed worldwide in different ecosystems, from the free-living organisms in the seas and lakes to highly specialized parasites living in a variety of hosts, including humans. Several infections caused by flatworms are considered major neglected diseases affecting countries in the America...

Lipidic metabolism in parasitic platyhelminthes

This review is an account of research into the biochemistry of lipids of platyhelminth parasites. Taking as high benchmark major metabolic pathways of vertebrates we summarize catabolic and synthesis routes now thought to be characteristic of this group. We emphasize the litlle recent information that exists on intermediary metabolism in these parasites. However, new data may be challenging old...

Book Review: Interrelationships of the Platyhelminthes

Lipid binding proteins from parasitic platyhelminthes

TWO MAIN FAMILIES OF LIPID BINDING PROTEINS HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED IN PARASITIC PLATYHELMINTHES: hydrophobic ligand binding proteins (HLBPs) and fatty acid binding proteins (FABPs). Members of the former family of proteins are specific to the Cestoda class, while FABPs are conserved across a wide range of animal species. Because Platyhelminthes are unable to synthesize their own lipids, these lip...