Acquired immunity in vertebrates maintains polymorphisms in endemic pathogens, leading
to identifiable signatures of balancing selection. To comprehensively survey for genes under …

Background Endemic human pathogens are subject to strong immune selection, and
interrogation of pathogen genome variation for signatures of balancing selection can identify …

Parasite antigen genes might evolve under frequency-dependent immune selection. The
distinctive patterns of polymorphism that result can be detected using population genetic …

Discovering novel genes involved in immune evasion and drug resistance in the human
malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, is of critical importance to global health. Such …

Antimalarial drugs impose strong selective pressure on Plasmodium falciparum parasites
and leave signatures of selection in the parasite genome,; screening for genes under …

Malaria parasites possess the remarkable ability to maintain chronic infections that fail to
elicit a protective immune response, characteristics that have stymied vaccine development …

One goal in sequencing the Plasmodium falciparum genome, the agent of the most lethal
form of malaria, is to discover vaccine and drug targets. However, identifying those targets in …

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 …

Signatures of balancing selection operating on specific gene loci in endemic pathogens can
identify candidate targets of naturally acquired immunity. In malaria parasites, several …

Investigation of the diversity of malaria parasite antigens can help prioritize and validate
them as vaccine candidates and identify the most common variants for inclusion in vaccine …