The selection landscape of malaria parasites.
Malaria parasites have to survive and transmit within a highly selective and ever-changing host environment. Because immunity to malaria is nonsterilizing and builds up slowly through repeated infections, commonly the parasite invades a host that is immunologically and physiologically different from...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2010
|
| _version_ | 1797066812330868736 |
|---|---|
| author | Mackinnon, M Marsh, K |
| author_facet | Mackinnon, M Marsh, K |
| author_sort | Mackinnon, M |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | Malaria parasites have to survive and transmit within a highly selective and ever-changing host environment. Because immunity to malaria is nonsterilizing and builds up slowly through repeated infections, commonly the parasite invades a host that is immunologically and physiologically different from its previous host. During the course of infection, the parasite must also keep pace with changes in host immune responses and red-blood-cell physiology. Here, we describe the "selection landscape" of the most virulent of the human malaria parasites, Plasmodium falciparum, and the adaptive mechanisms it uses to navigate through that landscape. Taking a cost-benefit view of parasite fitness, we consider the evolutionary outcomes of the most important forces of selection operating on the parasite, namely immunity, host death, drugs, mosquito availability, and coinfection. Given the huge potential for malaria parasite evolution in the context of the recently renewed effort to eradicate malaria, a deeper understanding of P. falciparum adaptation is essential. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-06T21:47:22Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:4a0cb902-df52-4caa-867b-b858065f4ac5 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-06T21:47:22Z |
| publishDate | 2010 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:4a0cb902-df52-4caa-867b-b858065f4ac52022-03-26T15:35:21ZThe selection landscape of malaria parasites.Journal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:4a0cb902-df52-4caa-867b-b858065f4ac5EnglishSymplectic Elements at Oxford2010Mackinnon, MMarsh, KMalaria parasites have to survive and transmit within a highly selective and ever-changing host environment. Because immunity to malaria is nonsterilizing and builds up slowly through repeated infections, commonly the parasite invades a host that is immunologically and physiologically different from its previous host. During the course of infection, the parasite must also keep pace with changes in host immune responses and red-blood-cell physiology. Here, we describe the "selection landscape" of the most virulent of the human malaria parasites, Plasmodium falciparum, and the adaptive mechanisms it uses to navigate through that landscape. Taking a cost-benefit view of parasite fitness, we consider the evolutionary outcomes of the most important forces of selection operating on the parasite, namely immunity, host death, drugs, mosquito availability, and coinfection. Given the huge potential for malaria parasite evolution in the context of the recently renewed effort to eradicate malaria, a deeper understanding of P. falciparum adaptation is essential. |
| spellingShingle | Mackinnon, M Marsh, K The selection landscape of malaria parasites. |
| title | The selection landscape of malaria parasites. |
| title_full | The selection landscape of malaria parasites. |
| title_fullStr | The selection landscape of malaria parasites. |
| title_full_unstemmed | The selection landscape of malaria parasites. |
| title_short | The selection landscape of malaria parasites. |
| title_sort | selection landscape of malaria parasites |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mackinnonm theselectionlandscapeofmalariaparasites AT marshk theselectionlandscapeofmalariaparasites AT mackinnonm selectionlandscapeofmalariaparasites AT marshk selectionlandscapeofmalariaparasites |