Evolutionary dynamics of zoonotic malaria

疟原虫属的数十种疟疾感染全世界的人类和非人类灵长类动物。在 这些寄生虫中至少有八种已经从灵长类宿主转移到人类群体中，包括 间日疟原虫和恶性疟原虫这两种人类主要疟疾病原体的历史宿主扩张 国际吧随着我们在消灭这些常见疟疾寄生虫方面取得进展， 将新的或罕见的疟疾寄生虫引入人群的转变或扩张正在增加 全球消除的障碍。事实上，在东南亚部分地区，一种人畜共患疟疾寄生虫现在是主要的疟疾病原体。 临床疟疾的病因缺乏人畜共患疟疾菌株的基因组资源，特别是来自野生 灵长类动物，一直是了解疟疾寄生虫的出现及其对疟疾的风险的主要障碍。 在人群中传播。以巴西新出现的人畜共患寄生虫-P. simium为例， 我们结合联合收割机对多种寄生虫及其宿主种群的全基因组测序， 疟原虫宿主特异性和进化的遗传基础。P. simium是一个理想的系统，因为它是一个 间日疟原虫的近亲，重要的是，最近已经两次转移宿主范围，第一次是从 历史上的人类间日疟原虫进入灵长类，最近又回到人类。为了解释这个新的基因组 数据，我们将把联合收割机实验技术与全基因组模拟框架的开发相结合 它结合了寄生虫生命周期的各个方面，以更好地解释中性遗传多样性。这打开了最近 我们将使用基于模拟的推理技术来推断南方的人口历史。 美国疟疾寄生虫，人畜共患病的时间，并确定在多个主机的选择位点。的 从计算方法鉴定的候选基因座的功能然后将用专门的- 开发了表达P. simium基因的转基因系，并对蛋白质结构进行了计算机建模， 宿主和寄生虫。总之，我们将联合收割机从寄生虫基因组学中获得的见解与 野生灵长类宿主的全基因组-从计算方法发展到功能 实验-让我们深入了解寄生虫在宿主体内面临的选择压力和宿主特异性 易感性

Dozens of malaria species, of the genus Plasmodium, infect human and nonhuman primates worldwide. At least eight of these parasite species have moved from primate reservoirs into human populations, including historical host expansion of P. vivax and P. falciparum, the two primary malaria-causing agents in humans worldwide. As we make progress towards elimination of these common malaria parasites, emerging host switches or expansions that introduce new or rare malaria parasites into human population are an increasing barrier to global elimination. Indeed, in parts of Southeast Asia, a zoonotic malaria parasite is now the main cause of clinical malaria. The lack of genomic resources for zoonotic malaria strains, particularly from wild primates, has been a major barrier to understanding the emergence of malaria parasites and their risk for spread in human populations. Using the emerging zoonotic parasite from Brazil, P. simium, as a case study, we combine whole-genome sequencing of multiple parasite and their host populations to characterize the genetic basis of host specificity and evolution in malaria parasites. P. simium is an ideal system because it is a close relative of the well-studied P. vivax, and importantly, has recently shifted host ranges twice, first from historical human P. vivax into primates, and more recently back into humans. To interpret this new genomic data, we will combine experimental techniques with development of a whole-genome simulation framework that incorporated aspects of parasite lifecycle to better interpret neutral genetic diversity. This opens up recent developments in simulation-based inference techniques that we will use to infer the population history of South American malaria parasites, the timing of zoonoses, and identify loci under selection in multiple hosts. The function of candidate loci identified from computational approaches will then be tested with a specially- developed transgenic line expressing P. simium genes and computational modeling of protein structures from host and parasites. In sum, we combine insights from parasite genomics with complementary analyses of whole genomes from their wild primate hosts—from computational methods development to functional experiments—giving insight into the selective pressures that parasites face inside hosts and host-specific susceptibility.