MPI-NAT Symposium: Survival strategies of Malaria parasites in the dry season
MPI-NAT Symposium
- Date: Jul 1, 2025
- Time: 10:15 AM - 11:00 AM (Local Time Germany)
- Speaker: Silvia Vilar Portugal
- Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Berlin
- Location: Max-Planck-Institut für Multidisziplinäre Naturwissenschaften (MPI-NAT, Faßberg-Campus)
- Room: Manfred-Eigen-Saal
- Host: Nils Brose
- Contact: gd.office@mpinat.mpg.de
Malaria remains a devastating global health challenge, killing over 500,000 African children annually during wet seasons, when mosquito vectors are available. A pivotal unanswered question is how malaria parasites persist asymptomatically in children during the dry season, when mosquitoes are absent, only to reignite transmission months later, as the rain ensues. My research program investigates these survival strategies through longitudinal studies in Mali, including hundreds of children naturally exposed to malaria parasites, collecting real-world longitudinal data and samples across seasonal transitions.
Integrating clinical epidemiology, multi-omics, and functional assays with freshly collected field isolates, we dissect how parasites transition between pathogenic wet-season outbreaks and cryptic dry-season persistence. Our work revealed that malaria parasites undergo fundamental biological adaptations to the dry season, extending their intraerythrocytic development cycle, reducing host pathology through modified gene expression, and minimizing immune activation. These adaptations maintain low-density infections that evade both clinical and immune detection. Bridging fundamental parasite biology with clinical epidemiology, our work elucidates the molecular mechanisms behind the complex interplay between parasite, host, and environment in malaria-endemic areas, shedding light on why malaria elimination efforts often remain elusive, and providing a roadmap for breaking the cycle of seasonal malaria transmission.
Integrating clinical epidemiology, multi-omics, and functional assays with freshly collected field isolates, we dissect how parasites transition between pathogenic wet-season outbreaks and cryptic dry-season persistence. Our work revealed that malaria parasites undergo fundamental biological adaptations to the dry season, extending their intraerythrocytic development cycle, reducing host pathology through modified gene expression, and minimizing immune activation. These adaptations maintain low-density infections that evade both clinical and immune detection. Bridging fundamental parasite biology with clinical epidemiology, our work elucidates the molecular mechanisms behind the complex interplay between parasite, host, and environment in malaria-endemic areas, shedding light on why malaria elimination efforts often remain elusive, and providing a roadmap for breaking the cycle of seasonal malaria transmission.