Advisor
 |
Luiz Ricardo Orsini Tosi Ms 5 Tel.: (16) 3315 – 3117 Email: luiztosi@fmrp.ups.br |
General outline
Our laboratory deals with the genomic plasticity and gene expression control of the parasitic protozoan Leishmania.
Reasearch areas
Our aim is to study the parasitic protozoan Leishmania. Our present investigations target the characterization of some aspects of the biology of this microorganism, such as drug resistance mechanisms and genomic plasticity. Part of our current projects examines how the genomic plasticity of this protozoan is explored as a means of regulating gene expression. Thus, by studying a gene localized in one end of the chromosome, we can verify the importance of the genomic context in its expression and in the control of DNA amplification and rearrangement mechanisms. Other projects focus on drug resistance mechanisms, especially those concerning antimonials, amphotericin B, and inhibitors of steroid synthesis. In this sense, we have already identified and characterized the gene LmYIP1, which participates in the intracellular vesicular traffic and confers resistance to terbinafine. The concern about the comparative analyses between species of the subgenera Leishmania and Viannia is present in most of the projects underway in our laboratory. Amplification studies on the loci related to drug resistance have demonstrated that formation of amplicons is a less common phenomenon in Viannia.
Publications
» Scholar