Reinvestigating the status of malaria parasite (Plasmodium sp.) in Indian non-human primates.

Jyotsana Dixit,Arun Zachariah,Bathrachalam Chandramohan,K Praveen Karanth,Sajesh P K,Vinoth Shanmuganatham,Alejandro Llanos-Cuentas

doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0006801

Jyotsana Dixit, Arun Zachariah + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0006801

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Abstract

Many human parasites and pathogens have closely related counterparts among non-human primates. For example, non-human primates harbour several species of malaria causing parasites of the genus Plasmodium. Studies suggest that for a better understanding of the origin and evolution of human malaria parasites it is important to know the diversity and evolutionary relationships of these parasites in non-human primates. Much work has been undertaken on malaria parasites in wild great Apes of Africa as well as wild monkeys of Southeast Asia however studies are lacking from South Asia, particularly India. India is one of the major malaria prone regions in the world and exhibits high primate diversity which in turn provides ideal setting for both zoonoses and anthropozoonoses. In this study we report the molecular data for malaria parasites from wild populations of Indian non-human primates. We surveyed 349 fecal samples from five different Indian non-human primates, while 94 blood and tissue samples from one of the Indian non-human primate species (Macaca radiata) and one blood sample from M. mulatta. Our results confirm the presence of P. fragile, P. inui and P. cynomolgi in Macaca radiata. Additionally, we report for the first time the presence of human malarial parasite, P. falciparum, in M. mulatta and M. radiata. Additionally, our results indicate that M. radiata does not exhibit population structure probably due to human mediated translocation of problem monkeys. Human mediated transport of macaques adds an additional level of complexity to tacking malaria in human. This issue has implications for both the spread of primate as well as human specific malarias.

Highlights

In the last two decades much work has been done to understand the evolutionary origin of human malarial parasite
In this study we report the molecular data for malaria parasites from wild populations of Indian non-human primates
We report for the first time the presence of human malarial parasite, P. falciparum, in M. mulatta and M. radiata

Summary

Introduction

In the last two decades much work has been done to understand the evolutionary origin of human malarial parasite. Studies indicate that P. falciparum is of gorilla origin and not of ancient human origin [5]. The largely Asian malarial parasite P. vivax appears to have an African origin as it is related to Plasmodium infecting the great apes of Africa [6]. These studies indicate that to understand the origin, evolution and transmission of these primate-derived human pathogens it is imperative that we understand the diversity and phylogenetic affinity of these pathogens in their natural hosts, the non-human primates ( referred to as primates). The recently detected knowlesi malaria in human from Southeast Asia was acquired from wild macaques which serve as their reservoir hosts [7,8,9,10,11]

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