Cell Host & Microbe
Volume 27, Issue 2, 12 February 2020, Pages 176-187
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Review
Periodic Parasites and Daily Host Rhythms

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Biological rhythms appear to be an elegant solution to the challenge of coordinating activities with the consequences of the Earth’s daily and seasonal rotation. The genes and molecular mechanisms underpinning circadian clocks in multicellular organisms are well understood. In contrast, the regulatory mechanisms and fitness consequences of biological rhythms exhibited by parasites remain mysterious. Here, we explore how periodicity in parasite traits is generated and why daily rhythms matter for parasite fitness. We focus on malaria (Plasmodium) parasites which exhibit developmental rhythms during replication in the mammalian host’s blood and in transmission to vectors. Rhythmic in-host parasite replication is responsible for eliciting inflammatory responses, the severity of disease symptoms, and fueling transmission, as well as conferring tolerance to anti-parasite drugs. Thus, understanding both how and why the timing and synchrony of parasites are connected to the daily rhythms of hosts and vectors may make treatment more effective and less toxic to hosts.

Keywords

circadian clock
circadian rhythm
Plasmodium
intra-erythrocytic development cycle
synchronicity
periodicity
entrainment
fitness
host-parasite interactions
nutrient sensing
metabolism
inflammatory response

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