Worldwide genetic diversity of Plasmodium vivax Pv47 is consistent with natural selection by anopheline mosquitoes

Alvaro Molina-Cruz (), Lilia Gonzalez-Ceron, Ankit Dwivedi, Tran Zen B. Torres, Nadia Raytselis, Micah Young, Nitin Kamath, Colton McNinch, Xinzhuan Su, Anthony Ford, Marcelo U. Ferreira, Myriam Arévalo-Herrera, Sócrates Herrera, Eugenia Lo, Joana C. Silva and Carolina Barillas-Mury ()
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Alvaro Molina-Cruz: National Institutes of Health
Lilia Gonzalez-Ceron: Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública
Ankit Dwivedi: University of Maryland School of Medicine
Tran Zen B. Torres: National Institutes of Health
Nadia Raytselis: National Institutes of Health
Micah Young: National Institutes of Health
Nitin Kamath: National Institutes of Health
Colton McNinch: National Institutes of Health
Xinzhuan Su: National Institutes of Health
Anthony Ford: University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Marcelo U. Ferreira: University of São Paulo
Myriam Arévalo-Herrera: Malaria Vaccine and Drug Development Center
Sócrates Herrera: Malaria Vaccine and Drug Development Center
Eugenia Lo: University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Joana C. Silva: University of Maryland School of Medicine
Carolina Barillas-Mury: National Institutes of Health

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Pv47 is the Plasmodium vivax ortholog of Pfs47, a protein that allows the Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasite to evade mosquito immunity and adapt to diverse vectors. We analyzed global genetic diversity of Pv47 and compared it with Pfs47, finding that most common Pv47 polymorphisms are non-synonymous and cluster in regions similar to those in Pfs47. Pv47 domain 2 presents an excess of non-synonymous substitutions, suggesting positive selection. The greatest haplotype diversity is found in Pv47 from East/Southeast Asia and Oceania. Like Pfs47, Pv47 also exhibits a marked geographic population structure worldwide. Notably, a Pv47 polymorphism (K27E) is associated to differences in infectivity to Anopheles (Nyssorhynchus) albimanus and Anopheles pseudopunctipennis, two phylogenetically distant vectors in Mexico. The striking similarities in genetic diversity, population structure, and signatures of natural selection between Pv47 and Pfs47 suggest that adaptation to different Anopheline mosquito species drives Pv47 diversity by selecting compatible Pv47 haplotypes.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-62680-3

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