Testing the evolutionary drivers of malaria parasite rhythms and their consequences for host-parasite interactions.

ABSTRACT: Undertaking certain activities at the time of day that maximises fitness is assumed to explain the evolution of circadian clocks. Organisms often use daily environmental cues such as light and food availability to set the timing of their clocks. These cues may be the environmental rhythms that ultimately determine fitness, act as proxies for the timing of less tractable ultimate drivers, or are used simply to maintain internal synchrony. While many pathogens/parasites undertake rhythmic activities, both the proximate and ultimate drivers of their rhythms are poorly understood. Explaining the roles of rhythms in infections offers avenues for novel interventions to interfere with parasite fitness and reduce the severity and spread of disease. Here, we perturb several rhythms in the hosts of

SUBMITTER: Holland JG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11246599 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature