Information concerning parasite genomes will be
fundamental to the future directions of parasitology
research in the new millennium. Already the complete
sequences of numerous pathogenic bacteria
are available to the scientific community. These
sequences contain essential information and clues
on drug targets and vaccine candidates and will
eventually help to unravel the mechanisms whereby
pathogens succeed in their often complex and
intricate life cycles. The void between a complete
genome sequence of a pathogenic organism and the
tools for its control might be truly enormous but the
sequence provides the essential foundation for future
study. Considerable progress has been made over the
last five years to transfer genome technologies to
eukaryotic pathogens and it was timely for the
British Society for Parasitology to consider parasite
genome research at the Autumn Symposium in
September 1998. The meeting provided the opportunity to
consider the rapid progress being made
in various parasite genome projects, bioinformatics
of genome analysis (including availability and access)
and the exciting possibilities for research in the post-genomic era.