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Tennessen JA, Duraisingh MT. Three Signatures of Adaptive Polymorphism Exemplified by Malaria-Associated Genes. Mol Biol Evol 2021; 38:1356-1371. [PMID: 33185667 PMCID: PMC8042748 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msaa294] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Malaria has been one of the strongest selective pressures on our species. Many of the best-characterized cases of adaptive evolution in humans are in genes tied to malaria resistance. However, the complex evolutionary patterns at these genes are poorly captured by standard scans for nonneutral evolution. Here, we present three new statistical tests for selection based on population genetic patterns that are observed more than once among key malaria resistance loci. We assess these tests using forward-time evolutionary simulations and apply them to global whole-genome sequencing data from humans, and thus we show that they are effective at distinguishing selection from neutrality. Each test captures a distinct evolutionary pattern, here called Divergent Haplotypes, Repeated Shifts, and Arrested Sweeps, associated with a particular period of human prehistory. We clarify the selective signatures at known malaria-relevant genes and identify additional genes showing similar adaptive evolutionary patterns. Among our top outliers, we see a particular enrichment for genes involved in erythropoiesis and for genes previously associated with malaria resistance, consistent with a major role for malaria in shaping these patterns of genetic diversity. Polymorphisms at these genes are likely to impact resistance to malaria infection and contribute to ongoing host-parasite coevolutionary dynamics.
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Satchwell TJ. Erythrocyte invasion receptors for Plasmodium falciparum: new and old. Transfus Med 2016; 26:77-88. [PMID: 26862042 DOI: 10.1111/tme.12280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2015] [Revised: 12/18/2015] [Accepted: 01/11/2016] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Understanding the complex process by which the invasive form of the Plasmodium falciparum parasite, the merozoite, attaches to and invades erythrocytes as part of its blood stage life cycle represents a key area of research in the battle to combat malaria. Central to this are efforts to determine the identity of receptors on the host cell surface, their corresponding merozoite-binding proteins and the functional relevance of these binding events as part of the invasion process. This review will provide an updated summary of studies identifying receptor interactions essential for or implicated in P. falciparum merozoite invasion of human erythrocytes, highlighting the recent identification of new receptors using groundbreaking high throughput approaches and with particular focus on the properties and putative involvement of the erythrocyte proteins targeted by these invasion pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- T J Satchwell
- School of Biochemistry, Biomedical Sciences Building, University Walk, Bristol, UK
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Lopez-Perez M, Villasis E, Machado RLD, Póvoa MM, Vinetz JM, Blair S, Gamboa D, Lustigman S. Plasmodium falciparum field isolates from South America use an atypical red blood cell invasion pathway associated with invasion ligand polymorphisms. PLoS One 2012; 7:e47913. [PMID: 23118907 PMCID: PMC3485327 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0047913] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2012] [Accepted: 09/17/2012] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies of Plasmodium falciparum invasion pathways in field isolates have been limited. Red blood cell (RBC) invasion is a complex process involving two invasion protein families; Erythrocyte Binding-Like (EBL) and the Reticulocyte Binding-Like (PfRh) proteins, which are polymorphic and not fully characterized in field isolates. To determine the various P. falciparum invasion pathways used by parasite isolates from South America, we studied the invasion phenotypes in three regions: Colombia, Peru and Brazil. Additionally, polymorphisms in three members of the EBL (EBA-181, EBA-175 and EBL-1) and five members of the PfRh (PfRh1, PfRh2a, PfRh2b, PfRh4, PfRh5) families were determined. We found that most P. falciparum field isolates from Colombia and Peru invade RBCs through an atypical invasion pathway phenotypically characterized as resistant to all enzyme treatments (NrTrCr). Moreover, the invasion pathways and the ligand polymorphisms differed substantially among the Colombian and Brazilian isolates while the Peruvian isolates represent an amalgam of those present in the Colombian and Brazilian field isolates. The NrTrCr invasion profile was associated with the presence of the PfRh2a pepC variant, the PfRh5 variant 1 and EBA-181 RVNKN variant. The ebl and Pfrh expression levels in a field isolate displaying the NrTrCr profile also pointed to PfRh2a, PfRh5 and EBA-181 as being possibly the major players in this invasion pathway. Notably, our studies demonstrate the uniqueness of the Peruvian P. falciparum field isolates in terms of their invasion profiles and ligand polymorphisms, and present a unique opportunity for studying the ability of P. falciparum parasites to expand their invasion repertoire after being reintroduced to human populations. The present study is directly relevant to asexual blood stage vaccine design focused on invasion pathway proteins, suggesting that regional invasion variants and global geographical variation are likely to preclude a simple one size fits all type of vaccine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary Lopez-Perez
- Molecular Parasitology, Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute, New York Blood Center, New York City, New York, United States of America
| | - Elizabeth Villasis
- Malaria Laboratory, Instituto de Medicina Tropical “Alexander von Humboldt” Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru
| | - Ricardo L. D. Machado
- Center for Microorganism Investigations, Department of Dermatology, Parasitic and Infectious Diseases, Medicine School in São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo State, Brazil
| | - Marinete M. Póvoa
- Seção de Parasitologia, Instituto Evandro Chagas, Belém, Pará, Brazil
| | - Joseph M. Vinetz
- Malaria Laboratory, Instituto de Medicina Tropical “Alexander von Humboldt” Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America
- Departamento de Ciencias Celulares y Moleculares, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru
| | - Silvia Blair
- Malaria Group, Sede de Investigación Universitaria, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia
| | - Dionicia Gamboa
- Malaria Laboratory, Instituto de Medicina Tropical “Alexander von Humboldt” Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru
- Departamento de Ciencias Celulares y Moleculares, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru
| | - Sara Lustigman
- Molecular Parasitology, Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute, New York Blood Center, New York City, New York, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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