Parasitic nematodes infect over one half of the world's population, causing significant morbidity and mortality. Currently available methods of control have only partially alleviated this problem. A long term objective of the company's research is the development of novel pharmaceutical or immunological controls for nematode parasites of humans and animals; the current market for nematode control in animals alone is estimated to be as much as $1.52 billion annually. The primary goal of the research outlined in this application is the identification of appropriate free-living, parasite-related nematode species to use as models for actual parasites. A second focus of this work is the development of higher throughput methods of inducing down-regulation of specific genes to identify genes required for nematode fertility or viability. Successful completion of work in this proposal will provide new tools for the identification and validation of targets for novel nematicides. Targets identified in model organisms can then be validated in parasitic nematodes using modifications of methods developed in this work.
The results of the SBIR phase I project will lay the groundwork for the identification and evaluation of targets for anthelmintic agent discovery, including antibodies, small peptides, and chemicals. These results will reduce the time required to bring environmentally safe but effective anti-nematode drugs to market.
