Gene and genome evolution in malaria parasites (Plasmodium species)

疟疾寄生虫（疟原虫属）的基因和基因组进化

• 批准号: 1646332
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Edinburgh
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2015 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-1646332
• 关键词: Gene; genome; evolution; malaria; parasites

Within the last five years, we have discovered evidence of multiple Plasmodium parasites infecting African apes (chimpanzees and gorillas) that are closely related to species infecting humans. In particular, we have found evidence for six species within the Laverania subgenus that includes Plasmodium falciparum, the major cause of malignant malaria in humans: three of these species exclusively infect chimpanzees, while three more exclusively infect gorillas (1).P. falciparum originated when one of the parasite species infecting gorillas adapted to infect humans (1). The other common form of human malaria parasite is Plasmodium vivax, which is thought to be absent from humans in central Africa because they carry a Duffy-negative mutation that confers resistance to P. vivax infection. However, we have found that P. vivax is widespread among chimpanzees and gorillas across central Africa (2). Our general aim is now to investigate the evolution of these parasites, in an attempt to understand what determines their host specificity and how they have adapted to infecting different hosts (3).Our work in this area is part of a long-running collaboration with Professor Beatrice Hahn (University of Pennsylvania). Members of the Hahn laboratory are currently generating multiple genome sequences for various of these ape parasites. This project will involve bioinformatics analyses of gene and genome sequences derived from these various Plasmodium species, to investigate their evolution.We expect to compare multiple genome sequences from each species. Questions to be addressed include the extent of adaptive evolution in general, and the nature of host-adaptation in particular. Genes involved in parasite-host interactions will be specifically investigated, but various aspects of genome evolution will also be considered.

在过去的五年里，我们发现了多种疟原虫寄生虫感染非洲猿（黑猩猩和大猩猩）的证据，这些寄生虫与感染人类的物种密切相关。特别是，我们已经发现了Laverania亚属中六个物种的证据，其中包括恶性疟原虫，人类恶性疟疾的主要原因：其中三个物种专门感染黑猩猩，而另外三个专门感染大猩猩（1）。恶性疟原虫起源于感染大猩猩的寄生虫物种之一适应感染人类（1）。人类疟疾寄生虫的另一种常见形式是间日疟原虫，人们认为这种疟原虫在中非的人类中不存在，因为它们携带一种达菲阴性突变，可以抵抗间日疟原虫感染。然而，我们发现间日疟原虫在非洲中部的黑猩猩和大猩猩中广泛分布（2）。我们的总体目标是研究这些寄生虫的进化，试图了解是什么决定了它们的宿主特异性以及它们如何适应感染不同的宿主（3）。我们在这一领域的工作是与Beatrice Hahn教授（宾夕法尼亚大学）长期合作的一部分。哈恩实验室的成员目前正在为这些猿类寄生虫生成多个基因组序列。该项目将涉及来自这些不同疟原虫物种的基因和基因组序列的生物信息学分析，以研究它们的进化。我们希望比较每个物种的多个基因组序列。要解决的问题包括一般的适应性进化的程度，特别是宿主适应的性质。参与寄生虫-宿主相互作用的基因将被专门研究，但基因组进化的各个方面也将被考虑。

项目成果

Evolutionary history of human Plasmodium vivax revealed by genome-wide analyses of related ape parasites.

• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1810053115
• 发表时间: 2018-09-04
• 期刊: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
• 影响因子: 11.1
• 作者: Loy DE;Plenderleith LJ;Sundararaman SA;Liu W;Gruszczyk J;Chen YJ;Trimboli S;Learn GH;MacLean OA;Morgan ALK;Li Y;Avitto AN;Giles J;Calvignac-Spencer S;Sachse A;Leendertz FH;Speede S;Ayouba A;Peeters M;Rayner JC;Tham WH;Sharp PM;Hahn BH
• 通讯作者: Hahn BH

Adaptive Evolution of RH5 in Ape Plasmodium species of the Laverania Subgenus.

Laverania子属的猿类疟原虫种类RH5的自适应演变。

• DOI: 10.1128/mbio.02237-17
• 发表时间: 2018-01-23
• 期刊: mBio
• 影响因子: 6.4
• 作者: Plenderleith LJ;Liu W;MacLean OA;Li Y;Loy DE;Sundararaman SA;Bibollet-Ruche F;Learn GH;Hahn BH;Sharp PM
• 通讯作者: Sharp PM