A key question in the study of coevolution is the tempo and mode of evolution of the interacting partners. Is the association an ancient one, reflecting a long and intimate interaction between the two organisms, or is it a recent event due perhaps to a parasite colonising a new host? What is the relative rate of evolution between host and parasite? Answering these questions requires the compari...

Plasmodium falciparum, a causative agent of malaria, is a well-characterized obligate intracellular parasite known for its ability to remodel host cells, particularly erythrocytes, to successfully persist in the host environment. However, the current levels of understanding from the laboratory experiments on the host-parasite interactions and the strategies pursued by the parasite to remodel ho...

Invasion of erythrocytes by Plasmodium falciparum merozoites is necessary for malaria pathogenesis and is therefore a primary target for vaccine development. RH5 is a leading subunit vaccine candidate because anti-RH5 antibodies inhibit parasite growth and the interaction with its erythrocyte receptor basigin is essential for invasion. RH5 is secreted, complexes with other parasite proteins inc...

Invasion of the red blood cell (RBC) by the Plasmodium parasite defines the start of malaria disease pathogenesis. To date, experimental investigations into invasion have focused predominantly on the role of parasite adhesins or signaling pathways and the identity of binding receptors on the red cell surface. A potential role for signaling pathways within the erythrocyte, which might alter red ...

BACKGROUND Host genotype accounts for a component of the variability in susceptibility to childhood Plasmodium falciparum malaria. However, despite numerous examples of host polymorphisms associated with tolerance or resistance to infection, direct evidence for an impact of host genetic polymorphisms on the in vivo parasite population is difficult to obtain. Parasite molecules whose expression ...

There is an increasing interest in unveiling the dynamics of parasite infection. Understanding the interaction patterns, and determinants of host-parasite association contributes to filling knowledge gaps in both community and disease ecology. Despite being targeted as a relevant group for conservation efforts, determinants of the association of amphibians and their parasites in broad scales ar...

In many systems, host-parasite evolutionary dynamics have led to the emergence and maintenance of diverse parasite and host genotypes within the same population. Genotypes vary in key attributes: Parasite genotypes vary in ability to infect, host genotypes vary in susceptibility, and infection outcome is frequently the result of both parties' genotypic identities. These host-parasite genotype-b...

Abstract Chytrids are important drivers of aquatic ecosystems as phytoplankton parasites. The interaction between these parasites and their hosts shaped by abiotic factors such temperature light. Here, we performed a full-factorial experiment to study how light interact affect the dynamics bloom-forming toxic cyanobacterium Planktothrix rubescens its chytrid parasite. We used dynamic host-paras...

Detailed studies of host/parasite interactions are currently limited because in situ gene sequencing or monitoring of parasite gene expression is so far limited to genes presenting a high loci copy number in the Schistosome genome or a high level of expression. Indeed, how to investigate the host parasite molecular interplay when parasites are not directly accessible in vivo? Here we describe a...

We investigated the effect of protease inhibitors on the asexual development of the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii. Among the inhibitors tested only two irreversible serine protease inhibitors, 3,4-dichloroisocoumarin and 4-(2-aminoethyl)-benzenesulfonyl fluoride, clearly prevented invasion of the host cells by specifically affecting parasite targets in a dose-dependent manner, with 50% i...