Journal
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
Volume 25, Issue 10, Pages 2233-2239Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msn171
Keywords
malaria parasite; host switch; coevolution
Funding
- Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology [19790306, 20390120, 18073013, 18GS03140013]
- Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research [20390120, 19790306] Funding Source: KAKEN
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Malaria parasites genus Plasmodium infect all classes of terrestrial vertebrates and display host specificity in their infections. It is therefore assumed that malaria parasites coevolved intimately with their hosts. Here, we propose a novel scenario of malaria parasite-host coevolution. A phylogenetic tree constructed using the malaria parasite mitochondrial genome reveals that the extant primate, rodent, bird, and reptile parasite lineages rapidly diverged from a common ancestor during an evolutionary short time period. This rapid diversification occurred long after the establishment of the primate, rodent, bird, and reptile host lineages, which implies that host-switch events contributed to the rapid diversification of extant malaria parasite lineages. Interestingly, the rapid diversification coincides with the radiation of the mammalian genera, suggesting that adaptive radiation to new mammalian hosts triggered the rapid diversification of extant malaria parasite lineages.
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