TY - JOUR
T1 - The genome of the zoonotic malaria parasite Plasmodium simium reveals adaptations to host switching
AU - Mourier, Tobias
AU - de Alvarenga, Denise Anete Madureira
AU - Kaushik, Abhinav
AU - de Pina-Costa, Anielle
AU - Douvropoulou, Olga
AU - Guan, Qingtian
AU - Guzmán-Vega, Francisco J.
AU - Forrester, Sarah
AU - de Abreu, Filipe Vieira Santos
AU - Júnior, Cesare Bianco
AU - de Souza Junior, Julio Cesar
AU - Moreira, Silvia Bahadian
AU - Hirano, Zelinda Maria Braga
AU - Pissinatti, Alcides
AU - Ferreira-da-Cruz, Maria de Fátima
AU - de Oliveira, Ricardo Lourenço
AU - Arold, Stefan T.
AU - Jeffares, Daniel C.
AU - Brasil, Patrícia
AU - de Brito, Cristiana Ferreira Alves
AU - Culleton, Richard
AU - Daniel-Ribeiro, Cláudio Tadeu
AU - Pain, Arnab
N1 - KAUST Repository Item: Exported on 2021-10-04
Acknowledged KAUST grant number(s): BAS/1/1056-01-01, BRF1020/01/01, OSR, URF/1/1976-25
Acknowledgements: The work was supported financially by the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) through the baseline fund BRF1020/01/01 to AP and BAS/1/1056-01-01 to STA, and the Award No. URF/1/1976-25 from the Office of Sponsored Research (OSR). The field work in the Atlantic Forest and laboratory analysis in Brazil received financial support from the Secretary for Health Surveillance of the Ministry of Health through the Global Fund (agreement IOC-005-Fio-13), Programa Nacional de Excelência (PRONEX) and contract 407873/2018-0 of the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (Fapemig CBB-APQ-02620-15) and the Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (Faperj), Brazil. CNPq supports CFAB, CTDR, MFFC, PB and RLO, with a research productivity fellowship. CTDR (CNE: E-26/202.921/2018), MFFC, PB and RLO are also supported by Faperj as Cientistas do nosso estado. AdP-C was supported by a postdoctoral fellowship from the Faperj and DAMA by a fellowship from the CGZV-SVS (Brazilian Ministry of Health) TED 49/2018 grant. SF was supported by a Wellcome Seed Award in Science to DCJ (208965/Z/17/Z).
PY - 2021/10/1
Y1 - 2021/10/1
N2 - Abstract
Background
Plasmodium simium, a malaria parasite of non-human primates (NHP), was recently shown to cause zoonotic infections in humans in Brazil. We sequenced the P. simium genome to investigate its evolutionary history and to identify any genetic adaptions that may underlie the ability of this parasite to switch between host species.
Results
Phylogenetic analyses based on whole genome sequences of P. simium from humans and NHPs reveals that P. simium is monophyletic within the broader diversity of South American Plasmodium vivax, suggesting P. simium first infected NHPs as a result of a host switch of P. vivax from humans. The P. simium isolates show the closest relationship to Mexican P. vivax isolates. Analysis of erythrocyte invasion genes reveals differences between P. vivax and P. simium, including large deletions in the Duffy-binding protein 1 (DBP1) and reticulocyte-binding protein 2a genes of P. simium. Analysis of P. simium isolated from NHPs and humans revealed a deletion of 38 amino acids in DBP1 present in all human-derived isolates, whereas NHP isolates were multi-allelic.
Conclusions
Analysis of the P. simium genome confirmed a close phylogenetic relationship between P. simium and P. vivax, and suggests a very recent American origin for P. simium. The presence of the DBP1 deletion in all human-derived isolates tested suggests that this deletion, in combination with other genetic changes in P. simium, may facilitate the invasion of human red blood cells and may explain, at least in part, the basis of the recent zoonotic infections.
AB - Abstract
Background
Plasmodium simium, a malaria parasite of non-human primates (NHP), was recently shown to cause zoonotic infections in humans in Brazil. We sequenced the P. simium genome to investigate its evolutionary history and to identify any genetic adaptions that may underlie the ability of this parasite to switch between host species.
Results
Phylogenetic analyses based on whole genome sequences of P. simium from humans and NHPs reveals that P. simium is monophyletic within the broader diversity of South American Plasmodium vivax, suggesting P. simium first infected NHPs as a result of a host switch of P. vivax from humans. The P. simium isolates show the closest relationship to Mexican P. vivax isolates. Analysis of erythrocyte invasion genes reveals differences between P. vivax and P. simium, including large deletions in the Duffy-binding protein 1 (DBP1) and reticulocyte-binding protein 2a genes of P. simium. Analysis of P. simium isolated from NHPs and humans revealed a deletion of 38 amino acids in DBP1 present in all human-derived isolates, whereas NHP isolates were multi-allelic.
Conclusions
Analysis of the P. simium genome confirmed a close phylogenetic relationship between P. simium and P. vivax, and suggests a very recent American origin for P. simium. The presence of the DBP1 deletion in all human-derived isolates tested suggests that this deletion, in combination with other genetic changes in P. simium, may facilitate the invasion of human red blood cells and may explain, at least in part, the basis of the recent zoonotic infections.
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10754/664279
UR - https://bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12915-021-01139-5
U2 - 10.1186/s12915-021-01139-5
DO - 10.1186/s12915-021-01139-5
M3 - Article
C2 - 34592986
SN - 1741-7007
VL - 19
JO - BMC Biology
JF - BMC Biology
IS - 1
ER -
