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Clotilde Carlow
Senior Scientist
Parasitology
carlow@neb.com
978-380-7263
Ph.D.,
University of London, England, 1984
Curriculum Vitae
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Parasitic nematodes infect over one half of the world’s population, causing significant mortality and morbidity. They also cause significant problems in plants and animals. River blindness (onchocerciasis) and lymphatic filariasis, two diseases caused by filarial nematodes are among the most important tropical diseases. Research in my laboratory is centered on the biology of filarial nematodes and their Wolbachia endosymbionts. We use the free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as a model for parasitic nematodes since it shares many essential developmental processes and structural features. In addition, it offers a wealth of information since its genome has been completely sequenced, and there is a substantial collection of genetic information on many genes and genome-wide studies on gene function using RNAi. The sequence of the genome of the human filarial nematode Brugia malayi has also been recently completed. We are now using comparative and functional genomics to identify conserved nematode genes with an essential function that likely play an important role in nematode biology. These studies also allow us to identify those proteins that are absent from mammals that can be pursued further as potential drug targets.
Filarial parasites are unique among nematodes in harboring obligate intracellular Wolbachia bacterial endosymbionts. These rickettsia-like bacteria are related to the Wolbachia endosymbionts of arthropods that are known to regulate a number of essential processes in their insect host including reproduction, gender and survival. We are pursuing molecular approaches to learn more about filarial Wolbachia which appear to be essential for parasite development and survival. |
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| Selected Publications: |
- Zhang, Y., Foster, J.M., Kumar, S., Fougere, M., Carlow, C.K.S. (2004) Cofactor-independent phosphoglycerate mutase has an essential role in Caenorhabditis elegans and is conserved in parasitic nematodes. J Biol Chem. 279: 37185-90.
- Zhang, Y., Foster, J.M., Nelson, L.S., Ma, D., Carlow, C.K.S. (2005) The chitin synthase genes chs-1 and chs-2 are essential for C. elegans development and responsible for chitin deposition in the eggshell and pharynx respectively. Developmental Biology 285: 330-339.
- Ghedin, E., Wang, S., Spiro, D., Caler, E., Zhao, Q., Crabtree, J., Allen, J.E., Delcher, A.L., Guiliano, D.B., Miranda-Saavedra, D., Angiuoli, S.V., Creasy, T., Amedeo, P., Haas, B., El-Sayed, N.M., Wortman, J.R., Feldblyum, T., Tallon, L., Schatz, M., Shumway, M., Koo, H., Salzberg, S.L., Schobel, S., Pertea, M., Pop, M., White, O., Barton, G.J., Carlow, C.K., Crawford, M.J., Daub, J., Dimmic, M.W., Estes, C.F., Foster, J.M., Ganatra, M., Gregory, W.F., Johnson, N.M., Jin, J., Komuniecki, R., Korf, I., Kumar, S., Laney, S., Li, B.W., Li, W., Lindblom, T.H., Lustigman, S., Ma, D., Maina, C.V., Martin, D.M., McCarter, J.P., McReynolds, L., Mitreva, M., Nutman, T.B., Parkinson, J., Peregrin-Alvarez, J.M., Poole, C., Ren, Q., Saunders, L., Sluder, A.E., Smith, K., Stanke, M., Unnasch, T.R., Ware, J., Wei, A.D., Weil, G., Williams, D.J., Zhang, Y., Williams, S.A., Fraser-Liggett, C., Slatko, B., Blaxter, M.L., Scott, A.L. (2007) The genome of the filarial nematode parasite Brugia malayi. Science 317: 1756-1760.
- Kumar, S., Chaudhary, K., Foster, J., Novelli, J., Zhang, Y., Wang, S., Spiro, D., Ghedin, E., Carlow, C.K.S (2007) Mining predicted essential genes of Brugia malayi for nematode drug targets. PLoS ONE, 2: e1189.
- Raverdy, S., Foster, J., Roopenian, E., Carlow, C.K. (2008) The Wolbachia endosymbiont of Brugia malayi has an active pyruvate phosphate dikinase. Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology 160:163-166.
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