Editor's Summary
16 July 2009
Shared resistance to malaria
In humans, variation in the FY gene, also called DARC, can make the difference between susceptibility or resistance to infection by the malaria parasite Plasmodium vivax. FY codes for a chemokine receptor on the surface of red blood cells that is a known entry point for the malarial parasite. Now a study of a population of yellow baboons in Amboseli National Park in Kenya has identified variation in the FY gene of the baboon as a key determinant of susceptibility to the malaria-like parasite Hepatocystis. The functional variants in the baboon FY gene are not homologous to those seen in humans, though the patterns of variation in the FY cis-regulatory gene region in baboons and human raise the possibility of both mechanistic and selective parallels between the two species.
Authors: Making the paper: Susan Alberts and Greg Wray
Baboon susceptibility to a parasite reveals parallels with humans.
doi:10.1038/7253305a
Letter: Evolution of a malaria resistance gene in wild primates
Jenny Tung, Alexander Primus, Andrew J. Bouley, Tonya F. Severson, Susan C. Alberts & Gregory A. Wray
doi:10.1038/nature08149
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (320K) | Supplementary information
