Human migration, mosquitoes and the evolution of Plasmodium falciparum.
To date, coalescent analysis of the Plasmodium falciparum genome sequence has failed to provide a unifying theory regarding the parasite's evolution. While a better understanding of the evolution of the malaria genome will undoubtedly clarify the current controversy, the importance of the parasite's interplay with both the human host and mosquito vector cannot be underestimated. Changes in the population biology or ecology of either one of these species have consequences for malaria transmission and this was never more apparent than in the environmental changes brought about by the advent of agriculture.
Hume
Jennifer C C
JC
Peter Medawar Building for Pathogen Research, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK OX1 3SY. jennifer.hume@medawar.ox.ac.uk
Lyons
Emily J
EJ
Day
Karen P
KP
D000383:Agriculture / Q000639:trends; D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics; D009033:Culicidae / Q000469:parasitology*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D006801:Humans; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000469:parasitology*; D016778:Malaria, Falciparum / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission; D010802:Phylogeny; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D011157:Population Dynamics