Chapter 6:Omics and Their Impact on the Development of Chemotherapy Against Leishmania

Omics-based studies represent a major step forward in the analysis of modes of action and resistance mechanisms of drugs in Leishmania parasites, the causative agents of the leishmaniases. These are two key considerations when developing or repurposing drugs for chemotherapy against these neglected tropical diseases. The sequencing of most of the Leishmania genomes has greatly boosted the development of genomic and transcriptomic analyses during the last decade. At the same time, advances in both metabolomics- and proteomics-based technologies have proven essential to pinpoint and validate Leishmania-specific metabolic pathways. Despite posing significant computational challenges, the huge amount of data derived from these studies is shedding new light on the biology of Leishmania and leading to novel and more rational molecularly targeted therapeutic approaches. In this chapter we will outline the major discoveries achieved during recent years in terms of chemotherapy development against Leishmania parasites by means of these so-called omics approaches.