Display Settings:

Format

Send to:

Choose Destination

    Proc Biol Sci. 2009 Feb 7;276(1656):477-85.

    Inferring malaria parasite population structure from serological networks.

    Buckee CO, Bull PC, Gupta S.

    Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Tinbergen Building, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK. caroline.buckee@zoo.ox.ac.uk

    The malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum is characterized by high levels of genetic diversity at antigenic loci involved in virulence and immune evasion. Knowledge of the population structure and dynamics of these genes is important for designing control programmes and understanding the acquisition of immunity to malaria; however, high rates of homologous and non-homologous recombination as well as complex patterns of expression within hosts have hindered attempts to elucidate these structures experimentally. Here, we analyse serological data from Kenya using a novel network technique to deconstruct the relationships between patients' immune responses to different parasite isolates. We show that particular population structures and expression patterns produce distinctive signatures within serological networks of parasite recognition, which can be used to discriminate between competing hypotheses regarding the organization of these genes. Our analysis suggests that different levels of immune selection occur within different groups of the same multigene family leading to mixed population structures.

    PMID: 18826933 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

    PMCID: PMC2581777

    Supplemental Content

    Click here to read Click here to read