Scientists have cracked the genetic sequence of Giardia lamblia, a common protozoan parasite causing gardiasis, an intestinal infection considered to be one of the most common causes of waterborne (drinking and recreational) disease. The genome, reported in the recent issue of Science, is expected to lead to the development of new drugs against the infection.

Analysis of the Giardia genome revealed several unusual proteins that are promising drug targets, Morrison says. "These proteins are different enough from human proteins that if you affect them with a drug, it's not going to affect the human counterparts," she says. "Drugs can be devised that will interfere with the parasite's ability to replicate, or to move or bind in the small intestine, or to exist at all."

Source: MBL