The Population Genetics of Malaria-Blocking Mutations
Please arrive 5 minutes before the seminar begins to gain access to the building
Individuals with the Duffy negative blood group are highly resistant to blood stage infection with the malaria parasite Plasmodium vivax. Duffy negativity is so widespread in sub Saharan Africa that transmission of P. vivax malaria cannot be maintained in this region. But why has Duffy negativity not reached similar frequencies in other parts of the world where P. vivax is endemic? Are malaria blocking mutations, or, more broadly, infection blocking mutations, likely or unlikely to reach high frequencies in populations? In this talk I will present a theoretical framework with which to explore these questions, and demonstrate a possible explanation for the global distribution of the Duffy blood group.
Date:
16 May 2018, 12:00
Venue:
Medawar Building, off South Parks Road OX1 3SY
Venue Details:
Level 30 Seminar Room
Speaker:
Bridget Penman (University of Warwick)
Organising department:
Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine
Organisers:
Thomas Johnson (Department of Zoology),
Andrea Kastner (Department of Zoology),
Dr Proochista Ariana (University of Oxford),
Professor Sunetra Gupta (University of Oxford),
Prof Lynn Dustin (NDORMS)
Organiser contact email address:
thomas.johnson@tss.ox.ac.uk
Host:
Professor Sunetra Gupta (University of Oxford)
Part of:
Peter Medawar Building Seminars
Topics:
Booking required?:
Not required
Cost:
FREE
Audience:
Public
Editor:
Thomas Johnson
