Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Centre for Immunity, Infection and Evolution, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH9 3FL, UK.
Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.
Nat Commun. 2022 Apr 6;13(1):1868. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-29306-4.
The human parasite Plasmodium malariae has relatives infecting African apes (Plasmodium rodhaini) and New World monkeys (Plasmodium brasilianum), but its origins remain unknown. Using a novel approach to characterise P. malariae-related sequences in wild and captive African apes, we found that this group comprises three distinct lineages, one of which represents a previously unknown, highly divergent species infecting chimpanzees, bonobos and gorillas across central Africa. A second ape-derived lineage is much more closely related to the third, human-infective lineage P. malariae, but exhibits little evidence of genetic exchange with it, and so likely represents a separate species. Moreover, the levels and nature of genetic polymorphisms in P. malariae indicate that it resulted from the zoonotic transmission of an African ape parasite, reminiscent of the origin of P. falciparum. In contrast, P. brasilianum falls within the radiation of human P. malariae, and thus reflects a recent anthroponosis.
人类寄生虫疟原虫（Plasmodium malariae）有感染非洲猿类（Plasmodium rodhaini）和新世界猴（Plasmodium brasilianum）的亲缘关系，但它的起源仍然未知。本研究采用一种新方法来描述野生和圈养非洲猿类中的疟原虫相关序列，发现该群组由三个不同的谱系组成，其中一个谱系代表了一种以前未知的高度分化的物种，感染了中非地区的黑猩猩、倭黑猩猩和大猩猩。第二个源自猿类的谱系与第三个可感染人类的疟原虫（Plasmodium malariae）谱系更为密切相关，但与后者几乎没有遗传交换的证据，因此可能代表一个单独的物种。此外，疟原虫（Plasmodium malariae）的遗传多态性水平和性质表明，它是由非洲猿类寄生虫的动物源性传播引起的，这让人联想到恶性疟原虫的起源。相比之下，疟原虫（Plasmodium brasilianum）属于人类疟原虫的辐射范围，因此反映了最近的人类传染病。
