Expansion of host range as a driving force in the evolution of Toxoplasma.

نویسنده

  • John C Boothroyd
چکیده

The apicomplexan parasite Toxoplasma gondii is unusual in being able to infect almost any cell from almost any warm-blooded animal it encounters. This extraordinary host-range contrasts with its far more particular cousins such as the various species of the malaria parasite Plasmodium where each species of parasite has a single genus or even species of host that it can infect. Genetic and genomic studies have revealed a key role for a number of gene families in how Toxoplasma invades a host cell, modulates gene expression of that cell and successfully evades the resulting immune response. In this review, I will explore the hypothesis that a combination of sexual recombination and expansion of host range may be the major driving forces in the evolution of some of these gene families and the specific genes they encompass. These ideas stem from results and thoughts published by several labs in the last few years but especially recent papers on the role of different forms of rhoptry proteins in the relative virulence of F1 Toxoplasma progeny in a particular host species (mice).

برای دانلود رایگان متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

منابع مشابه

Gender and community development in Iran with emphasize in driving force the case study: Nemat Abad Tehran

One of the UN Millennium Development Goals is women's participation in urban management. This article develops a theoretical framework for analyzing the relationship between community- based planning and women participation in cities. In this regard, collective action, social capital, and neighborhood as location for community planning are used. The framework identifies a series of variables th...

متن کامل

Analysis of feral cats role in dissemination of Toxoplasma gondii infection in rural area, Golestan province, North-East of Iran

Background and aims: Cats carry a lot of zoonotic parasites such as Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) which causes toxoplasmosis in warm-blooded animals. Toxoplasmosis includes wide range of symptoms in its intermediate and definitive hosts but the worst symptoms have been seen in pregnant women and also on immunocompromised hosts. Considering the importance of the fact that cats are as the only de...

متن کامل

Serological Evaluation of Experimental Toxoplasma gondii Infection in Cats by Using Immunoblotting Based on an Affinity Purified Surface Antigen

Toxoplasma gondii is an apicomplexan parasite that infects human and almost all warm-blooded animals. The life cycle of the parasite includes an asexual reproduction in intermediate hosts (Mammals and birds) and a sexual reproduction in definitive hosts (Felidae). Cats are both the intermediate and the definitive host for T. gondii. The aim of this study was to investigate anti-T. gondii antibo...

متن کامل

Comparative Genomics of the Apicomplexan Parasites Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum: Coccidia Differing in Host Range and Transmission Strategy

Toxoplasma gondii is a zoonotic protozoan parasite which infects nearly one third of the human population and is found in an extraordinary range of vertebrate hosts. Its epidemiology depends heavily on horizontal transmission, especially between rodents and its definitive host, the cat. Neospora caninum is a recently discovered close relative of Toxoplasma, whose definitive host is the dog. Bot...

متن کامل

ذخیره در منابع من


  با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید

عنوان ژورنال:
  • Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz

دوره 104 2  شماره 

صفحات  -

تاریخ انتشار 2009