@article{fdi:010070061,
  title = {{E}vidence of strain structure in {P}lasmodium falciparum var gene repertoires in children from {G}abon, {W}est {A}frica},
  author = {{D}ay, {K}. {P}. and {A}rtzy-{R}andrup, {Y}. and {T}iedje, {K}. {E}. and {R}ougeron, {V}. and {C}hen, {D}. {S}. and {R}ask, {T}. {S}. and {R}orick, {M}. {M}. and {M}igot {N}abias, {F}lorence and {D}eloron, {P}hilippe and {L}uty, {A}drian and {P}ascual, {M}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{E}xisting theory on competition for hosts between pathogen strains has proposed that immune selection can lead to the maintenance of strain structure consisting of discrete, weakly overlapping antigenic repertoires. {T}his prediction of strain theory has conceptual overlap with fundamental ideas in ecology on niche partitioning and limiting similarity between coexisting species in an ecosystem, which oppose the hypothesis of neutral coexistence. {F}or {P}lasmodium falciparum, strain theory has been specifically proposed in relation to the major surface antigen of the blood stage, known as {P}f{EMP}1 and encoded by the multicopy multigene family known as the var genes. {D}eep sampling of the {DBL}a domain of var genes in the local population of {B}akoumba, {W}est {A}frica, was completed to define whether patterns of repertoire overlap support a role of immune selection under the opposing force of high outcrossing, a characteristic of areas of intense malaria transmission. {U}sing a 454 high-throughput sequencing protocol, we report extremely high diversity of the {DBL}a domain and a large parasite population with {DBL}a repertoires structured into nonrandom patterns of overlap. {S}uch population structure, significant for the high diversity of var genes that compose it at a local level, supports the existence of "strains" characterized by distinct var gene repertoires. {N}onneutral, frequency-dependent competition would be at play and could underlie these patterns. {W}ith a computational experiment that simulates an intervention similar to mass drug administration, we argue that the observed repertoire structure matters for the antigenic var diversity of the parasite population remaining after intervention.},
  keywords = {{P}lasmodium falciparum ; var genes ; parasite diversity ; strain structure ; {G}abon ; {GABON}},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{P}roceedings of the {N}ational {A}cademy of {S}ciences of the {U}nited {S}tates of {A}merica},
  volume = {114},
  numero = {20},
  pages = {{E}4103--{E}4111},
  ISSN = {0027-8424},
  year = {2017},
  DOI = {10.1073/pnas.1613018114},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010070061},
}