title: Persistent Parasitism: The Adaptive Biology of Malariae and Ovale Malaria.
abstract: Plasmodium malariae causes malaria in humans throughout the tropics and subtropics. Plasmodium ovale curtisi and Plasmodium ovale wallikeri are sympatric sibling species common in sub-Saharan Africa and also found in Oceania and Asia. Although rarely identified as the cause of malaria cases in endemic countries, PCR detection has confirmed all three parasite species to be more prevalent, and persistent, than previously thought. Chronic, low-density, multispecies asymptomatic infection is a successful biological adaptation by these Plasmodium spp., a pattern also observed among malaria parasites of wild primates. Current whole-genome analyses are illuminating the species barrier separating the ovale parasite species and reveal substantial expansion of subtelomeric gene families. The evidence for and against a quiescent pre-erythrocytic form of P. malariae is reviewed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology and Infection and Public Health England Malaria Reference Laboratory, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK; Department of Clinical Parasitology, Hospital for Tropical Diseases, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Mortimer Market Centre, Capper Street, London WC1E 6JB, UK. Electronic address: colin.sutherland@lshtm.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Colin J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Sutherland
mesh_terms: D000220:Adaptation, Biological; D000818:Animals; D058345:Asymptomatic Infections / Q000453:epidemiology; D016054:DNA, Protozoan / Q000235:genetics; D018503:Genome, Protozoan; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D006801:Humans; D008288:Malaria / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology*; D010961:Plasmodium / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D041122:Plasmodium ovale / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D016054:DNA, Protozoan
keywords: Plasmodium malariae; Plasmodium ovale curtisi; Plasmodium ovale wallikeri