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Vertebrate host protective immunity drives genetic diversity and antigenic polymorphism in Schistosoma mansoni
Author(s) -
BELTRAN S.,
GOURBAL B.,
BOISSIER J.,
DUVAL D.,
KIEFFERJAQUINOD S.,
PIERCE R. J.,
GRUNAU C.,
THÉRON A.,
MITTA G.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of evolutionary biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.289
H-Index - 128
eISSN - 1420-9101
pISSN - 1010-061X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2010.02190.x
Subject(s) - biology , genetic diversity , schistosoma mansoni , context (archaeology) , evolutionary biology , schistosoma , immune system , genetics , immunity , genetic variation , schistosomiasis , immunology , helminths , gene , population , paleontology , demography , sociology
Schistosomes are gonochoric blood parasites with a complex life cycle responsible for a disease of considerable medical and veterinary importance in tropical and subtropical regions. Understanding the evolution of schistosome genetic diversity is clearly of fundamental importance to interpreting schistosomiasis epidemiology and disease transmission patterns of this parasite. In this article, we investigated the putative role of the host immune system in the selection of male genetic diversity. We demonstrated the link between genetic dissimilarity and the protective effect among male worms. We then compared the proteomes of three male clones with different genotypes and differing by their capacity to protect against reinfection. The identified differences correspond mainly to antigens known or supposed to be involved in the induction of protective immunity. These results underline the role played by host immune system in the selection of schistosome genetic diversity that is linked to antigenic diversity. We discuss the evolutionary consequences in the context of schistosome infection.