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MBE Advance Access published online on August 4, 2008
Molecular Biology and Evolution, doi:10.1093/molbev/msn171
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© The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Research Article

Big bang in the evolution of extant malaria parasites

Toshiyuki Hayakawa*,{ddagger}, Richard Culleton*,§, Hiroto Otani*, Toshihiro Horii{dagger} and Kazuyuki Tanabe*

* Laboratory of Malariology, International Research Center of Infectious Diseases, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, 3-1 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
{dagger} Department of Molecular Protozoology, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, 3-1 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan

{ddagger} To whom correspondence should be addressed. Toshiyuki Hayakawa, Osaka University, 3-1 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan. Phone: +81-6-6879-4261; Fax: +81-6-6879-4262; E-mail: hayakawa{at}biken.osaka-u.ac.jp

Received for publication April 23, 2008. Revision received July 14, 2008. Accepted for publication July 29, 2008.

Malaria parasites (genus Plasmodium) infect all classes of terrestrial vertebrates and display host specificity in their infections. It is therefore assumed that malaria parasites co-evolved intimately with their hosts. Here, we propose a novel scenario of malaria parasite-host co-evolution. 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.

Key Words: malaria parasite • host • host switch • co-evolution

§ Present address: Department of Protozoology, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan


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