Molecular tools—advances, opportunities and prospects

Modern molecular technologies are having a substantial impact in many fundamental and applied areas of parasitology. In particular, polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-coupled approaches have found broad applicability because their sensitivity permits the enzymatic amplification of gene fragments from minute quantities of nucleic acids from tiny amounts of parasite material. Also, high-resolution electrophoretic and genomic methods are finding increased utility. This paper briefly discusses some developments and applications of DNA methods to parasites and highlights their usefulness or potential for those of veterinary importance. Selected examples of applications with implications in fundamental (systematics, population genetics, epidemiology and ecology) and applied (diagnosis, prevention and control) areas are presented. The focus is mainly on tools for the accurate identification of parasitic nematodes and protozoa of socio-economic importance, the diagnosis of infections and the detection of genetic variability using PCR-coupled mutation scanning technology.