Genes involved in phenotypic and antigenic variation in African trypanosomes and malaria.
Large polymorphic gene families that are involved in clonal phenotypic variation have been identified in both African trypanosomes and malaria parasites. Many of these gene families are necessary for host adaptation, allowing the parasite to infect different species of host or types of host cells. In many cases, switching between these functionally variable proteins also results in antigenic variation.
Rudenko
G
G
Department of Zoology, Wellcome Trust Centre for the Epidemiology of Infectious Disease, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3FY, UK. gloria.rudenko@ceid.ox.ac.uk
D000818:Animals; D000940:Antigenic Variation / Q000235:genetics*; D017125:Genes, Protozoan; D006801:Humans; D008288:Malaria / Q000469:parasitology; D010641:Phenotype; D010961:Plasmodium / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology*; D014346:Trypanosoma brucei brucei / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology*; D014353:Trypanosomiasis, African / Q000469:parasitology