Competition for hosts modulates vast antigenic diversity to generate persistent strain structure in Plasmodium falciparum.

In their competition for hosts, parasites with antigens that are novel to the host immune system will be at a competitive advantage. The resulting frequency-dependent selection can structure parasite populations into strains of limited genetic overlap. For the causative agent of malaria, Plasmodium...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Shai Pilosof, Qixin He, Kathryn E Tiedje, Shazia Ruybal-Pesántez, Karen P Day, Mercedes Pascual
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2019-06-01
Series:PLoS Biology
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3000336