The Origin and Age of Plasmodium Vivax

Overview

Journal Trends Parasitol

Specialty Parasitology

Date 2006 Oct 13

PMID 17035086

Citations 61

Authors

Omar E Cornejo

Ananias A Escalante

Affiliations

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Abstract

The evolutionary history of Plasmodium vivax has recently been addressed in terms of its origin as a parasite of humans and the age of extant populations. The consensus is that P. vivax originated as a result of a host switch from a non-human primate to hominids and that the extant populations did not originate as recently as previously proposed. Here, we show that, in a comparison of parasite isolates from across the world, Asian populations of P. vivax are the oldest. We discuss how this result, together with the phylogenetic evidence that P. vivax derived from Plasmodium found in Southeast Asian macaques, is most simply explained by assuming an Asian origin of this parasite. Nevertheless, the available data show only the tip of the iceberg. We discuss how sampling might affect time estimates to the most recent common ancestor for P. vivax populations and suggest that spatially explicit estimates are needed to understand the demographic history of this parasite better.

Citing Articles

Genomic exploration of the journey of Plasmodium vivax in Latin America.

Lefebvre M, Degrugillier F, Arnathau C, Fontecha G, Noya O, Houze S PLoS Pathog. 2025; 21(1):e1012811.

PMID: 39804931 PMC: 11761655. DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1012811.

Remarkable Evolutionary Rate Variations Among Lineages and Among Genome Compartments in Malaria Parasites of Mammals.

Abu-Elmakarem H, MacLean O, Venter F, Plenderleith L, Culleton R, Hahn B Mol Biol Evol. 2024; 41(12).

PMID: 39570730 PMC: 11631195. DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msae243.

Origin of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium vivax.

Sharp P, Plenderleith L, Culleton R, Hahn B Trends Parasitol. 2024; 40(7):562-572.

PMID: 38806300 PMC: 11588016. DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2024.05.001.

Population genomic evidence of structured and connected populations under host selection in Latin America.

Kattenberg J, Monsieurs P, De Meyer J, De Meulenaere K, Sauve E, de Oliveira T Ecol Evol. 2024; 14(3):e11103.

PMID: 38529021 PMC: 10961478. DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11103.

The Genome of Plasmodium gonderi: Insights into the Evolution of Human Malaria Parasites.

Cepeda A, Mello B, Pacheco M, Luo Z, Sullivan S, Carlton J Genome Biol Evol. 2024; 16(2).

PMID: 38376987 PMC: 10901558. DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evae027.

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