Evolution of Virulence in Eukaryotic Microbes

A unique and timely review of the emergence of eukaryotic virulence in fungi, oomycetes, and protozoa, as they affect both animals and plants Evolution of Virulence in Eukaryotic Microbes addresses new developments in defining the molecular basis of virulence in eukaryotic pathogens. By examining how pathogenic determinants have evolved in concert with their hosts, often overcoming innate and adaptive immune mechanisms, the book takes a fresh look at the selective processes that have shaped their evolution. Introductory chapters ground the reader in principal evolutionary themes such as phylogenetics and genetic exchange, building a basis of knowledge for later chapters covering advances in genetic tools, how pathogens exchange genetic material in nature, and the common themes of evolutionary adaptation that lead to disease in different hosts. With the goal of linking the research findings of the many disparate scientific communities in the field, the book: Assembles for the first time a collection of chapters on the diversity of eukaryotic microorganisms and the influence of evolutionary forces on the origins and emergence of their virulent attributes Highlights examples from three important, divergent groups of eukaryotic microorganisms that cause disease in animals and plants: oomycetes, protozoan parasites, and fungi Covers how the development of genetic tools has fostered the identification and functional analyses of virulence determinants Addresses how pathogens exchange genetic material in nature via classical or modified meiotic processes, horizontal gene transfer, and sexual cycles including those that are cryptic or even unisexual Provides a broad framework for formulating future studies by illustrating themes common to different pathogenic microbes Evolution of Virulence in Eukaryotic Microbes is an ideal book for microbiologists, evolutionary biologists and medical professionals, as well as graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty members working on the evolution of pathogens.

Table of Contents:
PREFACE ix ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xi CONTRIBUTORS xiii PART I GENERAL OVERVIEWS 1 1 Population Genetics and Parasite Diversity 3 Hsiao-Han Chang, Rachel F. Daniels, and Daniel L. Hartl 2 Evolution of Meiosis, Recombination, and Sexual Reproduction in Eukaryotic Microbes 17 Wenjun Li, Elizabeth Savelkoul, Joseph Heitman, and John M. Logsdon, Jr. 3 Phylogenomic Analysis 44 Andrew J. Roger, Martin Kolisko, and Alastair G. B. Simpson 4 Phylogenetics and Evolution of Virulence in the Kingdom Fungi 70 Monica A. Garcia-Solache and Arturo Casadevall PART II POPULATION GENETICS AND EVOLUTIONARY APPROACHES 91 5 Malaria: Host Range, Diversity, and Speciation 93 Ananias A. Escalante and Francisco J. Ayala 6 From Population Genomics to Elucidated Traits in Plasmodium Falciparum 111 Sarah K. Volkman, Daniel E. Neafsey, Stephen F. Schaffner, Pardis C. Sabeti, and Dyann F. Wirth 7 Selective Sweeps in Human Malaria Parasites 124 Xin-zhuan Su and John C. Wootton 8 Evolution of Drug Resistance in Fungi 143 Jessica A. Hill, Samantha J. Hoot, Theodore C. White, and Leah E. Cowen 9 Discovery of Extant Sexual Cycles in Human Pathogenic Fungi and Their Roles in the Generation of Diversity and Virulence 168 Richard J. Bennett and Kirsten Nielsen 10 Worldwide Migrations, Host Shifts, and Reemergence of Phytophthora Infestans, the Plant Destroyer 192 Jean Beagle Ristaino 11 Experimental and Natural Evolution of the Cryptococcus Neoformans and Cryptococcus Gattii Species Complex 208 Alexander Idnurm and Jianping Xu 12 Population Genetics, Diversity, and Spread of Virulence in Toxoplasma Gondii 231 Benjamin M. Rosenthal and James W. Ajioka PART III FORWARD AND REVERSE GENETIC SYSTEMS FOR DEFINING VIRULENCE 247 13 Genetic Crosses in Plasmodium Falciparum: Analysis of Drug Resistance 249 John C. Tan and Michael T. Ferdig 14 Genetic Mapping of Virulence in Rodent Malarias 269 Richard Carter and Richard Culleton 15 Genetic Mapping of Acute Virulence in Toxoplasma Gondii 285 L. David Sibley and John C. Boothroyd 16 Virulence in African Trypanosomes: Genetic and Molecular Approaches 307 Annette Macleod, Liam J. Morrison, and Andy Tait 17 The Evolution of Antigenic Variation in African Trypanosomes 324 Andrew P. Jackson and J. David Barry 18 Antigenic Variation, Adherence, and Virulence in Malaria 338 Joseph Smith and Kirk W. Deitsch 19 Invasion Ligand Diversity and Pathogenesis in Blood-Stage Malaria 362 Manoj T. Duraisingh, Jeffrey D. Dvorin, and Peter R. Preiser PART IV COMPARATIVE "OMICS" APPROACHES TO DEFINING VIRULENCE 385 20 Evolution of Virulence in Oomycete Plant Pathogens 387 Paul R. J. Birch, Mary E. Coates, and Jim L. Beynon 21 Evolution and Genomics of the Pathogenic Candida Species Complex 404 Geraldine Butler, Michael Lorenz, and Neil A. R. Gow 22 Evolution of Entamoeba Histolytica Virulence 422 Upinder Singh and Christopher D. Huston 23 Sex and Virulence in Basidiomycete Pathogens 437 Guus Bakkeren, Emilia K. Kruzel, and Christina M. Hull 24 Emergence of the Chytrid Fungus Batrachochytrium Dendrobatidis and Global Amphibian Declines 461 Matthew C. Fisher, Jason E. Stajich, and Rhys A. Farrer 25 Impact of Horizontal Gene Transfer on Virulence of Fungal Pathogens of Plants 473 Barbara J. Howlett and Richard P. Oliver 26 Evolution of Plant Pathogenicity in Fusarium Species 485 Li-Jun Ma, H. Corby Kistler, and Martijn Rep 27 Genetic, Genomic, and Molecular Approaches to Define Virulence of Aspergillus Fumigatus 501 Laetitia Muszkieta, William J. Steinbach, and Jean-Paul Latge 28 Cryptosporidium: Comparative Genomics and Pathogenesis 518 Satomi Kato and Jessica C. Kissinger INDEX 545

About the Author :
Dr. David Sibley, PhD, is a faculty member at the Washington University School of Medicine, where he teaches graduate courses in microbiology and has served on the steering committee for the Molecular Microbiology program for the past 10 years. In addition to authoring over 150 publications,?Dr. Sibley is an associate editor for PLoS Pathogens, edits reviews for Cellular Microbiology, and serves on the board of reviewing editors for Science. Dr. Barbara Howlett, PhD, is a Professor in the School of Botany at the University of Melbourne, specializing in fungal diseases of plants. She serves in an editorial capacity for PLoS Pathogens, Eukaryotic Cell, and the European Journal of Plant Pathology. Dr. Joseph Heitman, MD, PhD is currently Chair of the Dept of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology at Duke University. Dr. Heitman has co-authored four other books on the topics of eukayrotic function and pathogenesis, and serves as an editor for numerous?publication includingEukaryotic Cell, Virulence, and the Journal of Molecular Medicine.

Review :
“It should be of interest to evolutionary biologists, medical microbiologists and plant pathologists at postdoctoral and faculty levels.”  (Microbiology Today, 26 November 2012)