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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
general
Origin of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum in gorillas
Nature, Volume 467, No. 7314, Year 2010
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Description
Plasmodium falciparum is the most prevalent and lethal of the malaria parasites infecting humans, yet the origin and evolutionary history of this important pathogen remain controversial. Here we develop a single-genome amplification strategy to identify and characterize Plasmodium spp. DNA sequences in faecal samples from wild-living apes. Among nearly 3,000 specimens collected from field sites throughout central Africa, we found Plasmodium infection in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and western gorillas (Gorilla gorilla), but not in eastern gorillas (Gorilla beringei) or bonobos (Pan paniscus). Ape plasmodial infections were highly prevalent, widely distributed and almost always made up of mixed parasite species. Analysis of more than 1,100 mitochondrial, apicoplast and nuclear gene sequences from chimpanzees and gorillas revealed that 99% grouped within one of six host-specific lineages representing distinct Plasmodium species within the subgenus Laverania. One of these from western gorillas comprised parasites that were nearly identical to P. falciparum. In phylogenetic analyses of full-length mitochondrial sequences, human P. falciparum formed a monophyletic lineage within the gorilla parasite radiation. These findings indicate that P. falciparum is of gorilla origin and not of chimpanzee, bonobo or ancient human origin. © 2010 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.
Authors & Co-Authors
Liu, Weimin
United States, Birmingham
The University of Alabama at Birmingham
Li, Yingying
United States, Birmingham
The University of Alabama at Birmingham
Learn, Gerald H.
United States, Birmingham
The University of Alabama at Birmingham
Rudicell, Rebecca S.
United States, Birmingham
Uab Department of Microbiology
Robertson, Joel D.
United States, Birmingham
The University of Alabama at Birmingham
Keele, Brandon F.
United States, Birmingham
The University of Alabama at Birmingham
United States, Frederick
Saic-frederick
Ndjango, Jean Bosco N.
Democratic Republic Congo, Kisangani
Université de Kisangani
Sanz, Crickette M.
United States, St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis
Congo, Brazzaville
Wildlife Conservation Society
Morgan, David B.
Congo, Brazzaville
Wildlife Conservation Society
United States, Chicago
Lincoln Park Zoo
Locatelli, Sabrina
United States, Albany
State University of new York Albany
Gonder, Mary Katherine
United States, Albany
State University of new York Albany
Kranzusch, Philip J.
United States, Boston
Harvard Medical School
Walsh, Peter D.
United States, Bethesda
Vaccinape
Delaporte, Éric
France, Montpellier
Ird Centre de Montpellier
Mpoudi-Ngolé, Eitel
Cameroon, Yaounde
Centre de Recherche Médicale
Georgiev, Alexander V.
United States, Cambridge
Harvard University
Muller, Martin N.
United States, Albuquerque
The University of new Mexico
Shaw, George M.
United States, Birmingham
The University of Alabama at Birmingham
United States, Birmingham
Uab Department of Microbiology
Peeters, Martine F.
France, Montpellier
Ird Centre de Montpellier
Sharp, Paul M.
United Kingdom, Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh
Rayner, Julian C.
United States, Birmingham
The University of Alabama at Birmingham
United Kingdom, Hinxton
Wellcome Sanger Institute
Hahn, Beatrice H.
United States, Birmingham
The University of Alabama at Birmingham
United States, Birmingham
Uab Department of Microbiology
Statistics
Citations: 22
Authors: 22
Affiliations: 16
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1038/nature09442
ISSN:
00280836
e-ISSN:
14764687
Research Areas
Cancer
Genetics And Genomics
Infectious Diseases