Plasmodium billbrayi is a parasite of the genus Plasmodium subgenus Laverania.
P. billbrayi is phylogenetically very close to Plasmodium gaboni,[1] with both sharing a recent common ancestor.[2] The parasite is named in honour of the distinguished malariologist “Bill” Robert Stow Bray (1923–2008).[2]
Plasmodium billbrayi was first described along with Plasmodium billcollinsi by Krief et al. in February 2010, by sequencing the whole Plasmodium mitochondrial genome in chimpanzees.[1]
This species is found in East Africa.[1]
Plasmodium billbrayi infects common chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and Eastern chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii).[1][3]
Plasmodium billbrayi is a parasite of the genus Plasmodium subgenus Laverania.
P. billbrayi is phylogenetically very close to Plasmodium gaboni, with both sharing a recent common ancestor. The parasite is named in honour of the distinguished malariologist “Bill” Robert Stow Bray (1923–2008).
