title: Genome sequencing of chimpanzee malaria parasites reveals possible pathways of adaptation to human hosts.
abstract: Plasmodium falciparum causes most human malaria deaths, having prehistorically evolved from parasites of African Great Apes. Here we explore the genomic basis of P. falciparum adaptation to human hosts by fully sequencing the genome of the closely related chimpanzee parasite species P. reichenowi, and obtaining partial sequence data from a more distantly related chimpanzee parasite (P. gaboni). The close relationship between P. reichenowi and P. falciparum is emphasized by almost complete conservation of genomic synteny, but against this strikingly conserved background we observe major differences at loci involved in erythrocyte invasion. The organization of most virulence-associated multigene families, including the hypervariable var genes, is broadly conserved, but P. falciparum has a smaller subset of rif and stevor genes whose products are expressed on the infected erythrocyte surface. Genome-wide analysis identifies other loci under recent positive selection, but a limited number of changes at the host-parasite interface may have mediated host switching.
authors.affiliation: Parasite Genomics, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Cambridge CB10 1SA, UK.
authors.forename: Thomas D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Otto
authors.affiliation: Parasite Genomics, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Cambridge CB10 1SA, UK.
authors.forename: Julian C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Rayner
authors.affiliation: Parasite Genomics, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Cambridge CB10 1SA, UK.
authors.forename: Ulrike
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Böhme
authors.affiliation: 1] Parasite Genomics, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Cambridge CB10 1SA, UK [2] Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering (BESE) Division, Computational Bioscience Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Arnab
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pain
authors.affiliation: 1] National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, Maryland 20852, USA [2] Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford OX3 9DS, UK.
authors.forename: Natasha
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Spottiswoode
authors.affiliation: Parasite Genomics, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Cambridge CB10 1SA, UK.
authors.forename: Mandy
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sanders
authors.affiliation: Parasite Genomics, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Cambridge CB10 1SA, UK.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Quail
authors.affiliation: Centre International de Recherches Médicales de Franceville, CIRMF, BP 769 Franceville, Gabon.
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ollomo
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire MIVEGEC, UMR 5290 CNRS-IRD-UMI-UMII, IRD, BP 64501, 34394 Montpellier, France.
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Renaud
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Primate Research Centre, Department of Parasitology, 2280 GH Rijswijk, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Alan W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.affiliation: 1] Centre International de Recherches Médicales de Franceville, CIRMF, BP 769 Franceville, Gabon [2] Laboratoire MIVEGEC, UMR 5290 CNRS-IRD-UMI-UMII, IRD, BP 64501, 34394 Montpellier, France.
authors.forename: Franck
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Prugnolle
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathogen Molecular Biology, London School of Hygiene &Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK.
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Conway
authors.affiliation: 1] Parasite Genomics, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Cambridge CB10 1SA, UK [2] Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford OX3 9DS, UK [3].
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Newbold
authors.affiliation: 1] Parasite Genomics, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Cambridge CB10 1SA, UK [2].
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Berriman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D016678:Genome / Q000235:genetics*; D058507:Host Specificity / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans / Q000469:parasitology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family; D002679:Pan troglodytes / Q000469:parasitology*; D010961:Plasmodium / Q000235:genetics; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000235:genetics*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA