Plasmodium falciparum NF54 Genome sequencing

The parasites that cause malaria avoid destruction by the human immune response by systematically changing the antigens they expose on the infected cell surface. This process, called antigenic variation, is responsible for the chronic nature and virulence of the disease. The mechanisms enabling parasites to undergo antigen switching remain unknown, however it has been assumed that this process occurs stochastically over the course of an infection. In this study we show that parasites can sense changes in their environment and undergo antigen switching in response to those changes. This implies a much more sophisticated interaction between host and parasite than was previously appreciated and suggests that parasites have evolved to undergo antigenic switching when needed, for example in response to immune recognition.