Multiple independent introductions of Plasmodium falciparum in South America.
The origin of Plasmodium falciparum in South America is controversial. Some studies suggest a recent introduction during the European colonizations and the transatlantic slave trade. Other evidence--archeological and genetic--suggests a much older origin. We collected and analyzed P. falciparum isolates from different regions of the world, encompassing the distribution range of the parasite, including populations from sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and South America. Analyses of microsatellite and SNP polymorphisms show that the populations of P. falciparum in South America are subdivided in two main genetic clusters (northern and southern). Phylogenetic analyses, as well as Approximate Bayesian Computation methods suggest independent introductions of the two clusters from African sources. Our estimates of divergence time between the South American populations and their likely sources favor a likely introduction from Africa during the transatlantic slave trade.
Laboratoire Maladies Infectieuses et Vecteurs, Ecologie, Génétique, Evolution et Contrôle, Unité Mixte de Recherche 5290-224, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement-Université de Montpellier I, 34394 Montpellier Cedex 5, France. erhan.yalcindag@ird.fr
Erhan
E
Yalcindag
Eric
E
Elguero
Céline
C
Arnathau
Patrick
P
Durand
Jean
J
Akiana
Timothy J
TJ
Anderson
Agnes
A
Aubouy
François
F
Balloux
Patrick
P
Besnard
Hervé
H
Bogreau
Pierre
P
Carnevale
Umberto
U
D'Alessandro
Didier
D
Fontenille
Dionicia
D
Gamboa
Thibaut
T
Jombart
Jacques
J
Le Mire
Eric
E
Leroy
Amanda
A
Maestre
Mayfong
M
Mayxay
Didier
D
Ménard
Lise
L
Musset
Paul N
PN
Newton
Dieudonné
D
Nkoghé
Oscar
O
Noya
Benjamin
B
Ollomo
Christophe
C
Rogier
Vincent
V
Veron
Albina
A
Wide
Sedigheh
S
Zakeri
Bernard
B
Carme
Eric
E
Legrand
Christine
C
Chevillon
Francisco J
FJ
Ayala
François
F
Renaud
Franck
F
Prugnolle
D001499:Bayes Theorem; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003710:Demography; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005828:Genetics, Population; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats / Q000235:genetics; D008957:Models, Genetic; D010802:Phylogeny; D058974:Phylogeography; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / Q000235:genetics; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D013020:South America