Zoology staff directory

Research interests

• Molecular analysis of schistosome diversity and evolution, at all levels from individual sequence to whole genome.
• WHO Schistosoma Genome Initiative.
• Gene discovery in schistosomes.
• In vitro culture of schistosomes.
• Schistosome sex chromosomes and their evolution.
• Sturgeon in European waters.
• Actinomycetes and fish pathology.

Current activities

• Generation and analysis of schistosome expressed sequence tags (ESTs)
• Schistosome mitochondrial DNA sequencing
• Schistosome cDNA microarray production
• WHO Schistosoma Genome Network organisation
• Identification of archival Sturgeon specimens using molecular methods
• Characterisation of pathogenic Actinomycetes

Other Posts or Honoraria

1995 - present	WHO / UNDP / World Bank Schistosoma Genome Initiative - Executive Secretary

Employment history

1986 - 1990	Dept. of Immunology, Guy's Hospital Medical School and Dept. of Pathology, Royal College of Surgeons - Post-doctoral Research Assistant
1990 - 1993	Natural History Museum - Post-doctoral Research Assistant, Experimental Taxonomy Division, Department of Zoology
1993 - 1996	Natural History Museum - Wellcome Trust Research Fellow in Parasite Systematics, Experimental Taxonomy Div., Dept of Zoology
1996 - present	Natural History Museum - Researcher in Parasite Genome Analysis, Biomedical Parasitology Division, Department of Zoology

Higher education

1982	Univ. of Southampton - BSc (Hons)
1986	Univ. of Southampton - PhD

Web links

• browse the Schistosoma mansoni genome with SchistoDB
• BLAST analysis against Schistosoma sequence data at The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute
• Schistosoma Genome analysis at The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute
• Schistosoma Genome analysis at The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR)
• Schistosoma mansoni transcriptome analysis at ONCA, Sao Paulo
• Schistosoma japonicum genome analysis at the Chinese National Human Genome Centre, Shanghai

Publications

Mitchell GH, JOHNSTON DA, Naylor BA, Knight AM & Wedderburn N 1988.Plasmodium vivax malaria in the common marmoset Callithrix jacchus: adaptation and host response to infection. Parasitology 96: 241-250. PubMed Link

JOHNSTON DA, Knight AM, Naylor BA, Wedderburn N & Mitchell GH 1990. Monoclonal Antibodies from Epstein-Barr virus-transformed lymphocytes of common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) immune to malaria. Journal of Immunological Methods 127: 187-195. PubMed Link

Omer Ali P, Simpson AJG, Allen RA, Waters AP, Humphries CJ, JOHNSTON DA & Rollinson D 1991. Sequence of a small subunit rRNA gene of Schistosoma mansoni and its use in phylogenetic analysis. Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology 46: 201-208. PubMedLink

Simpson AJG, Dias Neto E, JOHNSTON DA, Kaukas A & Rollinson D 1993. Recent Molecular Approaches to the study of schistosome genetics. Experimental Parasitology 77: 376-379. PubMed Link

JOHNSTON DA, Kane RA & Rollinson D 1993. Small subunit (18S) ribosomal RNA gene divergence in the genus Schistosoma. Parasitology 107: 147-156. PubMed Link

JOHNSTON DA, Dias Neto E, Simpson AJG & Rollinson D 1993. Opening the can of worms: molecular analysis of schistosome populations. Parasitology Today 9: 286-291. PubMed Link

Kaukas A, JOHNSTON DA, Kane RA & Rollinson D 1994. Restriction enzyme mapping of ribosomal DNA of Schistosoma spindale and S. leiperi (Digenea) and its application to interspecific differentiation. Systematic Parasitology 27: 13-17.

Littlewood DTJ & JOHNSTON DA 1995. Molecular phylogenetics of the four Schistosoma species groups determined with partial 28S ribosomal RNA gene sequences. Parasitology 111: 167-175. PubMed Link

Rollinson D & JOHNSTON DA 1996. Schistosomiasis, a persistent parasitic disease. Interdisciplinary Science Reviews 21: 140-154.

Kane RA, Ridgers IL, JOHNSTON DA & Rollinson D 1996. Repetitive sequences within the first internal transcribed spacer of ribosomal DNA in schistosomes contain a Chi-like site. Moecular and Biochemical Parasitoogy. 75: 265-269. PubMed Link

Tanaka M, Tanaka T, Inazawa J, Nagafuchi S, Mutsui Y, Kaukas A, JOHNSTON DA &amp: Rollinson D (1997). Proceedings of the schistosome genome project. Memorias do Institute Oswaldo Cruz 92: 829-834. PubMed Link

JOHNSTON DA 1997. The WHO/UNDP/World Bank Schistosoma Genome Initiative: current status. Parasitology Today 13: 45-46.

Rollinson D, Kaukas A, JOHNSTON DA, Simpson AJG & Tanaka M 1997. Some molecular insights into schistosome evolution. International Journal of Parasitology 27: 11-28. PubMed Link

Kampkotter A, Ridgers I, JOHNSTON DA, Rollinson D, Kunz W & Grevelding CG 1999. Schistosoma mansoni: cloning and characterization of the Ras-homologue. Experimental Parasitology 91: 280-283. PubMed Link

JOHNSTON DA, Blaxter ML, Degrave WM, Foster J, Ivens AC E. & Melville S 1999. Genomics and the biology of parasites. Bioessays 21: 131-147. PubMed Link

Williams SA & JOHNSTON DA 1999. Helminth genome analysis: the current state of the filarial and schistosome genome projects. Parasitology 118S: 19-38.PubMed Link

Rollinson D & JOHNSTON DA 1999. Genome analysis: helping to solve the molecular mysteries of schistosomes. Helminthologia 36: 147-158.

Santos TM, JOHNSTON DA, Azevedo V, Ridgers IL, Fernandez Martinez M, Marotta GB, Santos RL, Fonseca SJ, Ortega JM, Rabelo EML, Saber M, Abdel-Hamid A, Franco GR, Rollinson D & Pena SDJ 1999. Analysis of the gene expression profile of Schistosoma mansoni cercariae using the Expressed Sequence Tag approach. Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology 103: 79-97. PubMed Link

Le Paslier M-C, Pierce RJ, Merlin F, Hirai H, Wu W, Williams DL, JOHNSTON DA. (2000) & LoVerde PT 2000. Construction and Characterization of a Schistosoma mansoni Bacterial Artificial Chromosome Library. Genomics 65: 87-94. PubMed Link

Snyder S, Loker ES, JOHNSTON DA & Rollinson D 2000. The Schistosomatidae: advances in phylogenetics and genomics. In Littlewood, DT L & Bray, RA The interrelationships of the Platyhelminthes Taylor and Francis, London.

Le TH, Blair D, Agatsuma T, Humair P-F, Campbell NJH, Iwagami M, Littlewood DTJ, Peacock B, JOHNSTON DA, Bartley J, Rollinson D, Herniou EA, Zarlenga DS & McManus DP 2000. Phylogenies Inferred from Mitochondrial Gene Orders - a Cautionary Tale from the Parasitic Flatworms. Molecular Biology and Evolution 17: 1123-1235. PubMed Link

Attwood SW & JOHNSTON DA 2001. Nucleotide sequence differences reveal genetic variation in Neotricula aperta (Gastropoda: Pomatiopsidae), the snail host of schistosomiasis in the lower Mekong Basin. Biological Journal of the Linneran Society 73: 23-41.

Oliveira G & JOHNSTON DA 2001. Mining the Schistosome DNA sequence database. Trends in Parasitology 17: 501-503. PubMed Link

Foster JM & JOHNSTON DA 2002. Helminth genomics: from gene discovery to genome sequencing. Trends in Parasitology 18: 241-242. PubMed Link

Hoffman KF, JOHNSTON DA & Dunne DW 2002. Identification of Schistosoma mansoni gender-associated gene transcripts by cDNA microarray profiling. Genome Biology 3: RESEARCH0041. PubMed Link

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Lockyer AE, Olson PD, Ostergaard P, Rollinson D, JOHNSTON DA, Attwood SA, Southgate VR, Horak P, Snyder SD Le TH, Agatsuma T, McManus DP, Carmichael AC, Naem S & Littlewood DTJ 2003. The phylogeny of the Schistosomatidae based on three genes with emphasis on the interrelationships of Schistosoma Weinland, 1858. Parasitology 126: 203-224. PubMed Link

Raghavan N, Miller AN, Gardner M, FitzGerald PC, Kerlavage AR, JOHNSTON DA, Lewis FA & Knight M 2003. Comparative gene analysis of Biomphalaria glabrata hemocytes pre- and post-exposure to miracidia of Schistosoma mansoni. Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology 126: 181-191. PubMed Link

Copeland CS, Brindley PJ, Heyers O, Michael SF, JOHNSTON DA, Williams DJ, Ivens A & Kalinna BH 2003. Boudicca, a retrovirus-like, LTR retrotransposon from the genome of the human blood fluke, Schistosoma mansoni. Journal of Virology 77: 6153-6166. PubMed Link

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El-Sayed NMA, Bartholomeu D, Ivens A, JOHNSTON DA & LoVerde PT 2004. Advances in Schistosome Genomics. Trends in Parasitology 20: 154-157. PubMed Link

Fitzpatrick JM, Johansen MV, JOHNSTON DA, Dunne DW & Hoffmann KF 2004. Gender associated gene expression in two related strains of Schistosoma japonicum. Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology 136: 191-209. PubMed Link

Curwen RS, Ashton PD, JOHNSTON DA & Wilson RA 2004. The Schistosoma mansoni soluble proteome: a comparison across four life-cycle stages. Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology 138: 57-66. PubMed Link

Fitzpatrick JM, JOHNSTON DA, Williams GW, Williams DJ, Freeman TC, Dunne DW & Hoffmann KF 2005. An oligonucleotide microarray for transcriptome analysis of Schistosoma mansoni and its application/use to investigate gender-associated gene expression. Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology 141: 1-13. PubMed Link

Pierce RJ, Wu W, Hirai H, Ivens A, Murphy LD, Noel C, JOHNSTON DA, Artiguenave F, Adams M, Cornette J, Viscogliosi E, Capron M & Balavoine G 2005. Evidence for a Dispersed Hox Gene Cluster in the Platyhelminth Parasite Schistosoma mansoni. Molecular Biology and Evolution 22: 2491-2503. PubMed Link

Littlewood DT, Lockyer AE, Webster BL, Johnston DA, & Le TH. (2006) The complete mitochondrial genomes of Schistosoma haematobium and Schistosoma spindale and the evolutionary history of mitochondrial genome changes among parasitic flatworms. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 39(2):452-67
Pubmed link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=16464618&query_hl=1&itool=pubmed_docsum

Johnston, DA (2006) "Genomes and Genomics of Parasitic Flatworms" in "Parasitic Flatworms: Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Immunology and Physiology", eds. Maule AG & Marks NJ, CABI, Wallingford, UK pp. 37-80

Chemale G, Morphew R,  Moxon J, Morassuti, A, LaCourse E, Barrett J, Johnston D & Brophy P (In Press) Proteomic analysis of glutathione transferases from the liver fluke parasite: a superfamily containing vaccine candidates. Proteomics.