Extracellular Vesicles Could Carry an Evolutionary Footprint in Interkingdom Communication

Communication through EVs may be involved in important evolutionary forces such as the adaptation of parasitism to specialized niches in the host, developed through interaction with vector and host proteins that could eventually lead to selection through the ability to exploit the biological system. EVs may be involved in the communication strategies used by the parasite to take advantage of its host and vector to maintain its virulence, survival and/or transmissibility. There is increasing evidence from various fields and approaches that suggest that the study of EVs might help in understanding the evolutionary events of host-parasite-vector interactions in protozoarian pathogens, and P. falciparum may be a good model to test this hypothesis. Considering the possible role of EVs as driving forces in this process, we foretell that an integrative molecular analysis and comparison between host proteins and those of P. falciparum-derived EVs, between host-derived EVs and those of P. falciparum, and between EVs derived from other Plasmodia species, could provide the answer to certain mysteries present in the study of interkingdom communication and of the evolutionary events of P. falciparum and other protozoarian pathogens.