TY - JOUR
T1 - The evolution and diversity of a low complexity vaccine candidate, merozoite surface protein 9 (MSP-9), in Plasmodium vivax and closely related species
AU - Chenet, Stella M.
AU - Pacheco, M. Andreína
AU - Bacon, David J.
AU - Collins, William E.
AU - Barnwell, John W.
AU - Escalante, Ananias A.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the US National Institutes of Health ( R01 GM080586 to A.A.E.). We thank the DNA laboratory at the School of Life Sciences for their technical support. We also thank Jane Carlton for providing access to 454 preliminary data from P. inui and P. gonderi . The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not represent the official views of the NIH, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of the Navy, Department of Defense, or the US Government.
PY - 2013/12
Y1 - 2013/12
N2 - The merozoite surface protein-9 (MSP-9) has been considered a target for an anti-malarial vaccine since it is one of many proteins involved in the erythrocyte invasion, a critical step in the parasite life cycle. Orthologs encoding this antigen have been found in all known species of Plasmodium parasitic to primates. In order to characterize and investigate the extent and maintenance of MSP-9 genetic diversity, we analyzed DNA sequences of the following malaria parasite species: Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium reichenowi, Plasmodium chabaudi, Plasmodium yoelii, Plasmodium berghei, Plasmodium coatneyi, Plasmodium gonderi, Plasmodium knowlesi, Plasmodium inui, Plasmodium simiovale, Plasmodium fieldi, Plasmodium cynomolgi and Plasmodium vivax and evaluated the signature of natural selection in all MSP-9 orthologs. Our findings suggest that the gene encoding MSP-9 is under purifying selection in P. vivax and closely related species. We further explored how selection affected different regions of MSP-9 by comparing the polymorphisms in P. vivax and P. falciparum, and found contrasting patterns between these two species that suggest differences in functional constraints. This observation implies that the MSP-9 orthologs in human parasites may interact differently with the host immune response. Thus, studies carried out in one species cannot be directly translated into the other.
AB - The merozoite surface protein-9 (MSP-9) has been considered a target for an anti-malarial vaccine since it is one of many proteins involved in the erythrocyte invasion, a critical step in the parasite life cycle. Orthologs encoding this antigen have been found in all known species of Plasmodium parasitic to primates. In order to characterize and investigate the extent and maintenance of MSP-9 genetic diversity, we analyzed DNA sequences of the following malaria parasite species: Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium reichenowi, Plasmodium chabaudi, Plasmodium yoelii, Plasmodium berghei, Plasmodium coatneyi, Plasmodium gonderi, Plasmodium knowlesi, Plasmodium inui, Plasmodium simiovale, Plasmodium fieldi, Plasmodium cynomolgi and Plasmodium vivax and evaluated the signature of natural selection in all MSP-9 orthologs. Our findings suggest that the gene encoding MSP-9 is under purifying selection in P. vivax and closely related species. We further explored how selection affected different regions of MSP-9 by comparing the polymorphisms in P. vivax and P. falciparum, and found contrasting patterns between these two species that suggest differences in functional constraints. This observation implies that the MSP-9 orthologs in human parasites may interact differently with the host immune response. Thus, studies carried out in one species cannot be directly translated into the other.
KW - ABRA
KW - Binding sites
KW - Genetic diversity
KW - MSP-9
KW - Merozoite surface proteins
KW - Plasmodium
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U2 - 10.1016/j.meegid.2013.09.011
DO - 10.1016/j.meegid.2013.09.011
M3 - Article
C2 - 24044894
AN - SCOPUS:84884779516
SN - 1567-1348
VL - 20
SP - 239
EP - 248
JO - Infection, Genetics and Evolution
JF - Infection, Genetics and Evolution
ER -