Figure 2.

Genome synteny between representative species of three lineages of the Plasmodium parasite. Protein coding genes of P. knowlesi, representative of species of the monkey malaria clade, are shown aligned with those of P. falciparum, and P. berghei as a representative of the rodent malaria clade. Chromosomes 1 through 14 are shown at the top, and conserved protein coding genes between the genomes are colored in order from red (5′-end of chromosome 1) to blue (3′-end of chromosome 14). An approximate scale in megabases is shown in the middle panel. Such synteny maps can reveal how chromosomes evolved from the first Plasmodium ancestor into the current karyotypes of extant malaria parasite species. Adapted from Ref. 15.