Molecular & Biochemical Parasitology 195 (2014) 75–76
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Molecular & Biochemical Parasitology
Editorial
35 Years of Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology
This year, Molecular & Biochemical Parasitology (MBP) has reached the landmark of 35 years of publication by Elsevier. In celebration, Elsevier and the current Editors have commissioned a series of articles, made freely available for one year by Elsevier, that hopefully reflect many of the landmark events and cumulative discoveries that have occurred in Parasitology in the intervening years. There has been a revolution in scientific practice and technological capability in the last few decades which has carried our disciplines along with it and it is instructive to reflect upon these changes. Many of the reviews have been written with an historical aspect so that the reader may appreciate how thinking about parasitological problems has evolved along with technology and continuous discovery. Thirty five years ago Louis ter Meer, an editorial manager at Elsevier, along with founding editors Miklós Müller, Win Gutteridge, and Peter Köhler, identified Parasitology as a scientific discipline that was moving with the times. They perceived that the increasing investment in research in this area, which reflected new recognition of the impact of the problems posed by parasites as well as advancement in tools to understand them, warranted a journal dedicated to the study of the molecular and biochemical aspects of parasites. Some of the thoughts that guided the establishment of MBP were given in an editorial [1] (which is available online as a Supplementary file attachment to this Editorial) on the occasion of the publication of the 100th volume of the journal. A glance at the first issue of MBP published in 1980 illustrates the distance that the topic has travelled in the intervening 35 years. The five articles that comprised that first issue make illuminating reading: two articles each on trypanosomes (T. cruzi and T. brucei), two on helminths (S. mansoni and Ascaris) and one on Giardia (the actual first article) with the emphasis heavily on biochemistry rather than molecular biology. Plasmodium research did not make an appearance in the journal until the second issue. Interestingly many of the topics of study have remained important. There is a renaissance in biochemistry and the problems of 1980 are largely the problems of 2015, although the detail of our knowledge is vastly different. Published monthly initially in two annual volumes, the impact of the journal was immediate and it quickly became the Parasitology journal in which to publish thanks to the energy and vision of those first editors. The distribution of the subject matter across parasite and approach has evolved as the various common technological hurdles were overcome, e.g. genetic transformation which was achieved in Trypanosoma in 1987 almost a decade before Plasmodium, whilst many helminths still await a robust system of this nature. These generic technologies began to exert their full power a little later http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.molbiopara.2014.08.003 0166-6851/© 2014 Published by Elsevier B.V.
as the nucleic acid sequencing revolution enabled whole genome characterisation and a fuller examination of the genetic complexity of our subjects of study. Progress shows no sign of slowing in the post-genome era and the combination of computation and increasingly sensitive imaging, biochemistry (e.g. metabolomics) and general multiplexing of approaches merely indicates that profound discoveries will continue to come and hopefully lead us to our common goal: control and alleviation of the numerous miserable pathologies caused by the organisms we study. Throughout this revolution MBP has published many important papers and latterly contributed reviews and reports of techniques that the community has developed. From the start, the Editors and Editorial Board have reflected the international commitment to our research area, representing countries from around the world. Seventeen editors (listed in Table 1) have served the cause, working in teams to cover the diverse organisms and approaches encompassed by the journal. They have overseen the parallel revolution in publishing which is almost unrecognisable from the 1980 paradigm. Electronic, on-line, rapid, Article of the Future, Open Access, blogs and commons are many worlds away from the elongated process that was publishing when MBP was launched. In addition there are many more outlets for publication which have inevitably meant that the journal has felt the strong wind of competition. Nonetheless, MBP continues to serve our community, providing a home where new breakthroughs and methods can reach their intended audience rapidly, having been rigorously reviewed by experts in our field. Over the last 35 years the Journal has embraced all of these changes and will continue to evolve, as will its subject matter, as MBP moves onwards Table 1 Current and past editors of Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology. 1980–1985 1986–1987 1988–1990 1991–1993 1994–1996 1997–1999
Miklós Müller, Win Gutteridge, and Peter Köhler Miklós Müller, Win Gutteridge, and George Cross Win Gutteridge, George Cross, and C.C. Wang George Cross, C.C. Wang, and Alan Fairlamb C.C. Wang, Alan Fairlamb, Tony Holder, and Richard Komuniecki Alan Fairlamb, Tony Holder, Richard Komuniecki, and John Donelson Tony Holder, John Donelson, Christine Clayton, Buddy Ullman 2000 John Donelson, Christine Clayton, Buddy Ullman, and Andy 2001–2005 Waters Christine Clayton, Buddy Ullman, Andy Waters, and Phil 2006–2008 LoVerde and Alister Craig (reviews editor) Andy Waters, Phil LoVerde, Marilyn Parsons, Keith Matthews, 2009–2012 and Alister Craig (reviews editor) 2013–present Andy Waters, Phil LoVerde, Marilyn Parsons, Keith Matthews, and Michael Ginger (reviews editor)
76
Editorial / Molecular & Biochemical Parasitology 195 (2014) 75–76
to its 50th year. We thank all of our hard-working authors and dedicated reviewers – each of you helped us to reach this milestone. We look forward a continued role of MBP in revealing the many fascinating secrets that parasites still hold and only grudgingly will reveal! Appendix A. Supplementary data Supplementary data associated with this article can be found, in the online version, at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.molbiopara. 2014.08.003.
Reference [1] Müller M, Gutteridge W, Köhler P. Editorial. Mol Biochem Parasitol 1999;100: 1–3.
Andy Waters Phil LoVerde Keith Matthews Marilyn Parsons Michael Ginger
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Molecular & Biochemical Parasitology
Editorial
35 Years of Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology
This year, Molecular & Biochemical Parasitology (MBP) has reached the landmark of 35 years of publication by Elsevier. In celebration, Elsevier and the current Editors have commissioned a series of articles, made freely available for one year by Elsevier, that hopefully reflect many of the landmark events and cumulative discoveries that have occurred in Parasitology in the intervening years. There has been a revolution in scientific practice and technological capability in the last few decades which has carried our disciplines along with it and it is instructive to reflect upon these changes. Many of the reviews have been written with an historical aspect so that the reader may appreciate how thinking about parasitological problems has evolved along with technology and continuous discovery. Thirty five years ago Louis ter Meer, an editorial manager at Elsevier, along with founding editors Miklós Müller, Win Gutteridge, and Peter Köhler, identified Parasitology as a scientific discipline that was moving with the times. They perceived that the increasing investment in research in this area, which reflected new recognition of the impact of the problems posed by parasites as well as advancement in tools to understand them, warranted a journal dedicated to the study of the molecular and biochemical aspects of parasites. Some of the thoughts that guided the establishment of MBP were given in an editorial [1] (which is available online as a Supplementary file attachment to this Editorial) on the occasion of the publication of the 100th volume of the journal. A glance at the first issue of MBP published in 1980 illustrates the distance that the topic has travelled in the intervening 35 years. The five articles that comprised that first issue make illuminating reading: two articles each on trypanosomes (T. cruzi and T. brucei), two on helminths (S. mansoni and Ascaris) and one on Giardia (the actual first article) with the emphasis heavily on biochemistry rather than molecular biology. Plasmodium research did not make an appearance in the journal until the second issue. Interestingly many of the topics of study have remained important. There is a renaissance in biochemistry and the problems of 1980 are largely the problems of 2015, although the detail of our knowledge is vastly different. Published monthly initially in two annual volumes, the impact of the journal was immediate and it quickly became the Parasitology journal in which to publish thanks to the energy and vision of those first editors. The distribution of the subject matter across parasite and approach has evolved as the various common technological hurdles were overcome, e.g. genetic transformation which was achieved in Trypanosoma in 1987 almost a decade before Plasmodium, whilst many helminths still await a robust system of this nature. These generic technologies began to exert their full power a little later http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.molbiopara.2014.08.003 0166-6851/© 2014 Published by Elsevier B.V.
as the nucleic acid sequencing revolution enabled whole genome characterisation and a fuller examination of the genetic complexity of our subjects of study. Progress shows no sign of slowing in the post-genome era and the combination of computation and increasingly sensitive imaging, biochemistry (e.g. metabolomics) and general multiplexing of approaches merely indicates that profound discoveries will continue to come and hopefully lead us to our common goal: control and alleviation of the numerous miserable pathologies caused by the organisms we study. Throughout this revolution MBP has published many important papers and latterly contributed reviews and reports of techniques that the community has developed. From the start, the Editors and Editorial Board have reflected the international commitment to our research area, representing countries from around the world. Seventeen editors (listed in Table 1) have served the cause, working in teams to cover the diverse organisms and approaches encompassed by the journal. They have overseen the parallel revolution in publishing which is almost unrecognisable from the 1980 paradigm. Electronic, on-line, rapid, Article of the Future, Open Access, blogs and commons are many worlds away from the elongated process that was publishing when MBP was launched. In addition there are many more outlets for publication which have inevitably meant that the journal has felt the strong wind of competition. Nonetheless, MBP continues to serve our community, providing a home where new breakthroughs and methods can reach their intended audience rapidly, having been rigorously reviewed by experts in our field. Over the last 35 years the Journal has embraced all of these changes and will continue to evolve, as will its subject matter, as MBP moves onwards Table 1 Current and past editors of Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology. 1980–1985 1986–1987 1988–1990 1991–1993 1994–1996 1997–1999
Miklós Müller, Win Gutteridge, and Peter Köhler Miklós Müller, Win Gutteridge, and George Cross Win Gutteridge, George Cross, and C.C. Wang George Cross, C.C. Wang, and Alan Fairlamb C.C. Wang, Alan Fairlamb, Tony Holder, and Richard Komuniecki Alan Fairlamb, Tony Holder, Richard Komuniecki, and John Donelson Tony Holder, John Donelson, Christine Clayton, Buddy Ullman 2000 John Donelson, Christine Clayton, Buddy Ullman, and Andy 2001–2005 Waters Christine Clayton, Buddy Ullman, Andy Waters, and Phil 2006–2008 LoVerde and Alister Craig (reviews editor) Andy Waters, Phil LoVerde, Marilyn Parsons, Keith Matthews, 2009–2012 and Alister Craig (reviews editor) 2013–present Andy Waters, Phil LoVerde, Marilyn Parsons, Keith Matthews, and Michael Ginger (reviews editor)
76
Editorial / Molecular & Biochemical Parasitology 195 (2014) 75–76
to its 50th year. We thank all of our hard-working authors and dedicated reviewers – each of you helped us to reach this milestone. We look forward a continued role of MBP in revealing the many fascinating secrets that parasites still hold and only grudgingly will reveal! Appendix A. Supplementary data Supplementary data associated with this article can be found, in the online version, at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.molbiopara. 2014.08.003.
Reference [1] Müller M, Gutteridge W, Köhler P. Editorial. Mol Biochem Parasitol 1999;100: 1–3.
Andy Waters Phil LoVerde Keith Matthews Marilyn Parsons Michael Ginger
