Plasmodium billcollinsi
{{Short description|Species of single-celled organism}}
{{Speciesbox
| genus = Plasmodium
| species = billcollinsi
| authority = Krief et al., 2010
}}
Plasmodium billcollinsi is a species of the genus Plasmodium subgenus Laverania.
It is a parasitic protozoan found in chimpanzees in Central Africa.{{cite web|title=New Malaria Parasites|url=http://www.malaria.com/questions/new-malaria-parasit|website=malaria.com|access-date=27 November 2017}} The parasite is named in honour of the malariologist William E. Collins.{{cite journal|last1=Krief|last2=Escalante|first2=Ananias A.|last3=Pacheco|first3=M. Andreina|last4=Mugisha|first4=Lawrence|last5=André|first5=Claudine|last6=Halbwax|first6=Michel|last7=Fischer|first7=Anne|last8=Krief|first8=Jean-Michel|last9=Kasenene|first9=John M.|last10=Crandfield|first10=Mike|last11=Cornejo|first11=Omar E.|last12=Chavatte|first12=Jean-Marc|last13=Lin|first13=Clara|last14=Letourneur|first14=Franck|last15=Grüner|first15=Anne Charlotte|last16=McCutchan|first16=Thomas F.|last17=Rénia|first17=Laurent|last18=Snounou|first18=Georges|title=On the Diversity of Malaria Parasites in African Apes and the Origin of Plasmodium falciparum from Bonobos|doi=10.1371/journal.ppat.1000765|pmid=20169187|volume=6|pmc=2820532|date=February 2010|journal=PLOS Pathog.|issue=2|page=e1000765 |doi-access=free }}{{CC-notice|by4}}
Taxonomy
Both P. billcollinsi and P. billbrayi were suggested based on mtDNA and nuclear gene sequences, in addition to having been obtained from chimpanzee samples.{{cite journal|last1=Liu|first1=Weimin|last2=Sundararaman|first2=Sesh A.|last3=Loy|first3=Dorothy E.|last4=Learn|first4=Gerald H.|last5=Li|first5=Yingying|last6=Plenderleith|first6=Lindsey J.|last7=Ndjango|first7=Jean-Bosco N.|last8=Speede|first8=Sheri|last9=Atencia|first9=Rebeca|last10=Cox|first10=Debby|last11=Shaw|first11=George M.|last12=Ayouba|first12=Ahidjo|last13=Peeters|first13=Martine|last14=Rayner|first14=Julian C.|last15=Hahn|first15=Beatrice H.|last16=Sharp|first16=Paul M.|title=Multigenomic Delineation of Plasmodium Species of the Laverania Subgenus Infecting Wild-Living Chimpanzees and Gorillas.|pmid=27289102|pmc=4943199|doi=10.1093/gbe/evw128|volume=8|year=2016|journal=Genome Biol Evol|issue=6|pages=1929–39}}{{CC-notice|by4}} Plasmodium billcollinsi is located at the root between P. falciparum and P. reichenowi.{{cite journal|last1=Prugnolle|first1=Franck|last2=Durand|first2=Patrick|last3=Ollomo|first3=Benjamin|last4=Duval|first4=Linda|last5=Ariey|first5=Frédéric|last6=Arnathau|first6=Céline|last7=Gonzalez|first7=Jean-Paul|last8=Leroy|first8=Eric|last9=Renaud|first9=François|title=A Fresh Look at the Origin of Plasmodium falciparum, the Most Malignant Malaria Agent|pmc=3044689|pmid=21383971|doi=10.1371/journal.ppat.1001283|volume=7|date=February 2011|journal=PLOS Pathog.|issue=2|page=e1001283 |doi-access=free }}{{CC-notice|by4}}
Distribution
Analysis made on 1,261 samples revealed that at least six Plasmodium species circulate in great apes in Gabon, with P. billcollinsi being found faecal samples from 791 chimpanzees.{{cite journal|last1=Boundenga|first1=Larson|last2=Ollomo|first2=Benjamin|last3=Rougeron|first3=Virginie|last4=Yacka Mouele|first4=Lauriane|last5=Mve-Ondo|first5=Bertrand|last6=Delicat-Loembet|first6=Lucrèce M|last7=Moukodoum|first7=Nancy Diamella|last8=Okouga|first8=Alain Prince|last9=Arnathau|first9=Céline|last10=Elguero|first10=Eric|last11=Durand|first11=Patrick|last12=Liégeois|first12=Florian|last13=Boué|first13=Vanina|last14=Motsch|first14=Peggy|last15=Le Flohic|first15=Guillaume|last16=Ndoungouet|first16=Alphonse|last17=Paupy|first17=Christophe|last18=Ba|first18=Cheikh Tidiane|last19=Renaud|first19=Francois|last20=Prugnolle|first20=Franck|title=Diversity of malaria parasites in great apes in Gabon|doi=10.1186/s12936-015-0622-6|url= |pmc=4364493|pmid=25889049|volume=14|year=2015|journal=Malar J|page=111 |doi-access=free }}{{CC-notice|by4}}
Hosts
Along with P. reichenowi, P. billbrayi and P. gaboni, P. billcollinsi infects with malaria to only chimpanzees.{{cite journal|last1=Ngoubangoye|first1=B|last2=Boundenga|first2=L|last3=Arnathau|first3=C|last4=Mombo|first4=IM|last5=Durand|first5=P|last6=Tsoumbou|first6=TA|last7=Otoro|first7=BV|last8=Sana|first8=R|last9=Okouga|first9=AP|last10=Moukodoum|first10=N|last11=Willaume|first11=E|last12=Herbert|first12=A|last13=Fouchet|first13=D|last14=Rougeron|first14=V|last15=Bâ|first15=CT|last16=Ollomo|first16=B|last17=Paupy|first17=C|last18=Leroy|first18=EM|last19=Renaud|first19=F|last20=Pontier|first20=D|last21=Prugnolle|first21=F|title=The host specificity of ape malaria parasites can be broken in confined environments.|doi=10.1016/j.ijpara.2016.06.004|pmid=27486075|volume=46|year=2016|journal=Int J Parasitol|issue=11|pages=737–44}} The parasite has been found in at least three subspecies: P. t. verus, P. t. troglodytes, and P. t. schweinfurthii.