A New Malaria Agent in African Hominids

PLoS Pathogens

Patrick Durand¹  Franck Prugnolle¹  Céline Arnathau¹  Emmanuel Douzery²  François Renaud³  Benjamin Ollomo⁴  Dieudonné Nkoghe⁴  Eric Leroy⁴ 

[1] Laboratoire Génétique et Evolution des Maladies Infectieuses, UMR 2724 CNRS-IRD, IRD Montpellier, Montpellier, France;Laboratoire de Paléontologie, Phylogénie & Paléobiologie, Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution (UMR 5554 CNRS), Université Montpellier II, Place E. Bataillon, Montpellier, France;Unité Emergence des Pathologies Virales, UMR 190 IRD-Université de la Méditerranée, CIRMF, Franceville, Gabon;Unité des Maladies Virales Émergentes, Centre International de Recherches Médicales de Franceville, Franceville, Gabon

关键词: Plasmodium;    Chimpanzees;    Plasmodium falciparum;    Comparative genomics;    Mitochondria;    Bird genomics;    Malarial parasites;    Veterinary parasitology;   

DOI  :  10.1371/journal.ppat.1000446

学科分类：生物科学（综合）

来源: Public Library of Science

【 摘 要 】

Plasmodium falciparum is the major human malaria agent responsible for 200 to 300 million infections and one to three million deaths annually, mainly among African infants. The origin and evolution of this pathogen within the human lineage is still unresolved. A single species, P. reichenowi, which infects chimpanzees, is known to be a close sister lineage of P. falciparum. Here we report the discovery of a new Plasmodium species infecting Hominids. This new species has been isolated in two chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) kept as pets by villagers in Gabon (Africa). Analysis of its complete mitochondrial genome (5529 nucleotides including Cyt b, Cox I and Cox III genes) reveals an older divergence of this lineage from the clade that includes P. falciparum and P. reichenowi (∼21±9 Myrs ago using Bayesian methods and considering that the divergence between P. falciparum and P. reichenowi occurred 4 to 7 million years ago as generally considered in the literature). This time frame would be congruent with the radiation of hominoids, suggesting that this Plasmodium lineage might have been present in early hominoids and that they may both have experienced a simultaneous diversification. Investigation of the nuclear genome of this new species will further the understanding of the genetic adaptations of P. falciparum to humans. The risk of transfer and emergence of this new species in humans must be now seriously considered given that it was found in two chimpanzees living in contact with humans and its close relatedness to the most virulent agent of malaria.

【 授权许可】

CC BY