Parasites and polymorphisms

K13-Propeller Polymorphisms in Plasmodium falciparum Parasites From Sub-Saharan Africa

Mutations in the Plasmodium falciparum K13-propeller domain have recently been shown to be important determinants of artemisinin resistance in Southeast Asia. This study investigated the prevalence of K13-propeller polymorphisms across sub-Saharan Africa. A total of 1212 P. falciparum samples collected from 12 countries were sequenced. None of the K13-propeller mutations previously reported in ...

Fitness Consequences of Plasmodium falciparum pfmdr1 Polymorphisms Inferred from Ex Vivo Culture of Ugandan Parasites.

Polymorphisms in the Plasmodium falciparum multidrug resistance 1 (pfmdr1) gene impact sensitivity to multiple antimalarials. In Africa, polymorphisms at N86Y and D1246Y are common and have various impacts on sensitivity to different drugs. To gain insight into the fitness consequences of these polymorphisms, we cultured parasites isolated from children with malaria in Tororo, Uganda, where the...

Parasites

Despite their large size, protozoan parasites are particularly adept at avoiding the unwanted attention of their hosts. This remarkable ability highlights the need for equally clever strategies to prevent and treat infection. With parasitic diseases such asmalaria and sleeping sickness affecting manymillions in the developing world, recent research in genetics and cell biology provides us with ...

The First National Congress of Parasitic Diseases and Zoonotic Parasites

Parasites, Phylogeny, and Cospeciation

PAGE, R. D. M. 1993. Parasites, phylogeny, and cospeciation. International Journal for Parasitology 23:499-506. Host-parasite assemblages offer exciting possibilities for the comparative study of rates of speciation and evolution in different organisms. The basis for such studies must be a phylogenetic analysis of the host-parasite association. Some recent developments in this field are briefly...