High diversity of West African bat malaria parasites and a tight link with rodent Plasmodium taxa.

ABSTRACT: As the only volant mammals, bats are captivating for their high taxonomic diversity, for their vital roles in ecosystems--particularly as pollinators and insectivores--and, more recently, for their important roles in the maintenance and transmission of zoonotic viral diseases. Genome sequences have identified evidence for a striking expansion of and positive selection in gene families associated with immunity. Bats have also been known to be hosts of malaria parasites for over a century, and as hosts, they possess perhaps the most phylogenetically diverse set of hemosporidian genera and species. To provide a molecular framework for the study of these parasites, we surveyed bats in three remote areas of the Upper Guinean forest ecosystem. We detected four distinct genera of hemosporidian pa

SUBMITTER: Schaer J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3808598 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature