@article {Otto095679, author = {Thomas D. Otto and Aude Gilabert and Thomas Crellen and Ulrike B{\"o}hme and C{\'e}line Arnathau and Mandy Sanders and Samuel Oyola and Alain Prince Okauga and Larson Boundenga and Eric Wuillaume and Barth{\'e}l{\'e}my Ngoubangoye and Nancy Diamella Moukodoum and Christophe Paupy and Patrick Durand and Virginie Rougeron and Benjamin Ollomo and Fran{\c c}ois Renaud and Chris Newbold and Matthew Berriman and Franck Prugnolle}, title = {Genomes of an entire Plasmodium subgenus reveal paths to virulent human malaria}, elocation-id = {095679}, year = {2016}, doi = {10.1101/095679}, publisher = {Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory}, abstract = {Plasmodium falciparum, the most virulent agent of human malaria, shares a recent common ancestor with the gorilla parasite P. praefalciparum. Although there are further gorilla and chimpanzee-infecting species in the same (Laverania) subgenus as P. falciparum, none are known to be able to establish repeated infection and transmission in humans. To elucidate underlying mechanisms and the evolutionary history of this subgenus, we have analysed multiple genomes from all known Laverania species. Here we estimate the timings of Laverania speciation events, placing P. falciparum speciation 40,000-60,000 years ago followed by a recent population bottleneck. We show that interspecific gene transfers as well as convergent evolution were important in the evolution of these species. Striking copy number and structural variations were observed within gene families and for the first time, features in P. falciparum are revealed that made it the only member of the Laverania able to infect and spread in humans.}, URL = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/early/2016/12/20/095679}, eprint = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/early/2016/12/20/095679.full.pdf}, journal = {bioRxiv} }