Question

Chemotherapy of protozoan and helminth parasite faces some challenges of which resistance to most chemotherapeutic drugs is the major. Which characteristics of the organisms contribute to this phenomenon?

Answer 1

This are lower animal organisms. The main reason for evolving resistance is the mutation in the genome. The mutations in the organism happens at faster rates and if the mutations are usefull such that they are able to provide such resistance by changing the structure of proteins like rransplmembrane transporting proteins in digestive vacuole of malaria or the receptors in other insects , causes the resistance to occur. Slowly the individuals with useful resistance developing mutation are selected naturally against the drugs used , thus making the population of parasite as resistant.