Last Updated: 18/06/2024
Origin, adaptation and evolution of Plasmodium falciparum (ORIGIN)
Objectives
The aim of this project is to reconstruct and get clues on how the transfer of P. falciparum to humans occurs.
Specific objectives are;
1) to perform a more thorough examination of the natural host range of P. praefalciparum, a lineage discovered recently in gorillas and suspected to be at the origin of P. falciparum in humans
2) to identify and analyse the ecology and the feeding behaviour of the vector species involved in the transmission of the different species of Plasmodium related to P. falciparum (especially P. praefalciparum) to determine if they might have served as bridging vectors during the transfer
3) to examine the lineage specific genomic features of P. falcipaurm in humans to determine how the parasite genetically adapted to its new host following the transfer from non-human primates.
From which host did the most malignant human malaria come? When did the transfer occur? How? Why? Over the last half century, these have been some of the questions up for debate about the origin of Plasmodium falciparum (subgenus Laverania), the most common and deadliest human malaria parasite. Some very recent studies claimed that P. falciparum appeared in humans in Africa following a recent transfer from gorillas. Although the data presented in these studies were quite conclusive, it still remains possible that other primate species might have served as sources. In addition, the modalities and the consequences of this transfer on the evolution of the parasite are still unknown. This research project, which includes three main tasks corresponding to the three main objectives, will be mainly performed in Gabon, in collaboration with Gabonese researchers and their research institutions. The results expected from this project will allow the researchers to understand the modalities of the transfer of P. falciparum into humans and should provide elements to understand how diseases emerge into new host, a recurrent problem faced in public health.
Dec 2012 — Dec 2016
$331,335
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