Yalcindag E. auteur aut IRD Rougeron V. auteur aut IRD Elguero Eric auteur aut IRD Arnathau C. auteur aut IRD Durand P. auteur aut IRD Brisse S. auteur aut IRD Diancourt L. auteur aut IRD Aubouy Agnès auteur aut IRD Becquart Pierre auteur aut IRD d'Alessandro U. auteur aut IRD Fontenille Didier auteur aut IRD Gamboa D. auteur aut IRD Maestre A. auteur aut IRD Menard D. auteur aut IRD Musset L. auteur aut IRD Noya O. auteur aut IRD Veron V. auteur aut IRD Wide A. auteur aut IRD Carme B. auteur aut IRD Legrand E. auteur aut IRD Chevillon C. auteur aut IRD Ayala F. J. auteur aut IRD Renaud F. auteur aut IRD Prugnolle Franck auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng text/pdf born digital access Pathogens, which have recently colonized a new host species or new populations of the same host, are interesting models for understanding how populations may evolve in response to novel environments. During its colonization of South America from Africa, Plasmodium falciparum, the main agent of malaria, has been exposed to new conditions in distinctive new human populations (Amerindian and populations of mixed origins) that likely exerted new selective pressures on the parasite's genome. Among the genes that might have experienced strong selective pressures in response to these environmental changes, the eba genes (erythrocyte-binding antigens genes), which are involved in the invasion of the human red blood cells, constitute good candidates. In this study, we analysed, in South America, the polymorphism of three eba genes (eba-140, eba-175, eba-181) and compared it to the polymorphism observed in African populations. The aim was to determine whether these genes faced selective pressures in South America distinct from what they experienced in Africa. Patterns of genetic variability of these genes were compared to the patterns observed at two housekeeping genes (adsl and serca) and 272 SNPs to separate adaptive effects from demographic effects. We show that, conversely to Africa, eba-140 seemed to be under stronger diversifying selection in South America than eba-175. In contrast, eba-181 did not show any sign of departure from neutrality. These changes in the patterns of selection on the eba genes could be the consequence of changes in the host immune response, the host receptor polymorphisms and/or the ability of the parasite to silence or express differentially its invasion proteins. specialized adaptation balancing selection malaria co-evolution invasion AMERIQUE DU SUD 052 020 23 8 1979-1993 2014 0962-1083 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010061879 10.1111/mec.12696 0962-1083 [F B010061879] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010061879 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/intranet/publi/2014/05/010061879.pdf Accès réservé (Intranet de l'IRD) IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2014-05-28 2017-08-23 fdi:010061879 fre