Molecular identification of the chitinase genes in Plasmodium relictum
(2014) In Malaria Journal 13.- Abstract
- Background: Malaria parasites need to synthesize chitinase in order to go through the peritrophic membrane, which is created around the mosquito midgut, to complete its life cycle. In mammalian malaria species, the chitinase gene comprises either a large or a short copy. In the avian malaria parasites Plasmodium gallinaceum both copies are present, suggesting that a gene duplication in the ancestor to these extant species preceded the loss of either the long or the short copy in Plasmodium parasites of mammals. Plasmodium gallinaceum is not the most widespread and harmful parasite of birds. This study is the first to search for and identify the chitinase gene in one of the most prevalent avian malaria parasites, Plasmodium relictum.... (More)
- Background: Malaria parasites need to synthesize chitinase in order to go through the peritrophic membrane, which is created around the mosquito midgut, to complete its life cycle. In mammalian malaria species, the chitinase gene comprises either a large or a short copy. In the avian malaria parasites Plasmodium gallinaceum both copies are present, suggesting that a gene duplication in the ancestor to these extant species preceded the loss of either the long or the short copy in Plasmodium parasites of mammals. Plasmodium gallinaceum is not the most widespread and harmful parasite of birds. This study is the first to search for and identify the chitinase gene in one of the most prevalent avian malaria parasites, Plasmodium relictum. Methods: Both copies of P. gallinaceum chitinase were used as reference sequences for primer design. Different sequences of Plasmodium spp. were used to build the phylogenetic tree of chitinase gene. Results: The gene encoding for chitinase was identified in isolates of two mitochondrial lineages of P. relictum (SGS1 and GRW4). The chitinase found in these two lineages consists both of the long (PrCHT1) and the short (PrCHT2) copy. The genetic differences found in the long copy of the chitinase gene between SGS1 and GRW4 were higher than the difference observed for the cytochrome b gene. Conclusion: The identification of both copies in P. relictum sheds light on the phylogenetic relationship of the chitinase gene in the genus Plasmodium. Due to its high variability, the chitinase gene could be used to study the genetic population structure in isolates from different host species and geographic regions. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/4602384
- author
- Garcia-Longoria, Luz ; Hellgren, Olof LU and Bensch, Staffan LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2014
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Avian malaria, Chitinase, Plasmodium relictum, SGS1, GRW4
- in
- Malaria Journal
- volume
- 13
- article number
- 239
- publisher
- BioMed Central (BMC)
- external identifiers
-
- wos:000338891100001
- scopus:84902300613
- pmid:24943514
- ISSN
- 1475-2875
- DOI
- 10.1186/1475-2875-13-239
- project
- Malaria in birds
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- f0f499ad-1891-4050-9d7e-ab105ba09ff5 (old id 4602384)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 13:46:16
- date last changed
- 2022-02-04 17:17:17
@article{f0f499ad-1891-4050-9d7e-ab105ba09ff5,
abstract = {{Background: Malaria parasites need to synthesize chitinase in order to go through the peritrophic membrane, which is created around the mosquito midgut, to complete its life cycle. In mammalian malaria species, the chitinase gene comprises either a large or a short copy. In the avian malaria parasites Plasmodium gallinaceum both copies are present, suggesting that a gene duplication in the ancestor to these extant species preceded the loss of either the long or the short copy in Plasmodium parasites of mammals. Plasmodium gallinaceum is not the most widespread and harmful parasite of birds. This study is the first to search for and identify the chitinase gene in one of the most prevalent avian malaria parasites, Plasmodium relictum. Methods: Both copies of P. gallinaceum chitinase were used as reference sequences for primer design. Different sequences of Plasmodium spp. were used to build the phylogenetic tree of chitinase gene. Results: The gene encoding for chitinase was identified in isolates of two mitochondrial lineages of P. relictum (SGS1 and GRW4). The chitinase found in these two lineages consists both of the long (PrCHT1) and the short (PrCHT2) copy. The genetic differences found in the long copy of the chitinase gene between SGS1 and GRW4 were higher than the difference observed for the cytochrome b gene. Conclusion: The identification of both copies in P. relictum sheds light on the phylogenetic relationship of the chitinase gene in the genus Plasmodium. Due to its high variability, the chitinase gene could be used to study the genetic population structure in isolates from different host species and geographic regions.}},
author = {{Garcia-Longoria, Luz and Hellgren, Olof and Bensch, Staffan}},
issn = {{1475-2875}},
keywords = {{Avian malaria; Chitinase; Plasmodium relictum; SGS1; GRW4}},
language = {{eng}},
publisher = {{BioMed Central (BMC)}},
series = {{Malaria Journal}},
title = {{Molecular identification of the chitinase genes in Plasmodium relictum}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1475-2875-13-239}},
doi = {{10.1186/1475-2875-13-239}},
volume = {{13}},
year = {{2014}},
}