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Genome hyperevolution and the success of a parasite
- Source :
- Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
- Publication Year :
- 2012
- Publisher :
- Blackwell Publishing Inc, 2012.
-
Abstract
- The strategy of antigenic variation is to present a constantly changing population phenotype that enhances parasite transmission, through evasion of immunity arising within, or existing between, host animals. Trypanosome antigenic variation occurs through spontaneous switching among members of a silent archive of many hundreds of variant surface glycoprotein (VSG) antigen genes. As with such contingency systems in other pathogens, switching appears to be triggered through inherently unstable DNA sequences. The archive occupies subtelomeres, a genome partition that promotes hypermutagenesis and, through telomere position effects, singular expression of VSG. Trypanosome antigenic variation is augmented greatly by the formation of mosaic genes from segments of pseudo-VSG, an example of implicit genetic information. Hypermutation occurs apparently evenly across the whole archive, without direct selection on individual VSG, demonstrating second-order selection of the underlying mechanisms. Coordination of antigenic variation, and thereby transmission, occurs through networking of trypanosome traits expressed at different scales from molecules to host populations.
- Subjects :
- Trypanosoma
Population
Somatic hypermutation
Biology
antigenic variation
Genome
General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
Chromosomes
Host-Parasite Interactions
Evolution, Molecular
03 medical and health sciences
History and Philosophy of Science
trypanosome
Trypanosomiasis
Genetic variation
Antigenic variation
Animals
Humans
education
Gene
030304 developmental biology
Immune Evasion
Genetics
0303 health sciences
education.field_of_study
genome hyperevolution
Base Sequence
030306 microbiology
General Neuroscience
Genetic Variation
Original Articles
DNA, Protozoan
Subtelomere
Phenotype
parasite
subtelomere
Genome, Protozoan
Variant Surface Glycoproteins, Trypanosoma
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 17496632 and 00778923
- Volume :
- 1267
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....eb9609d8f5ee5e4681cb8efe7f36006d