Population genetic analysis of large sequence polymorphisms in Plasmodium falciparum blood-stage antigens.

Infection, Genetics and Evolution : Journal of Molecular Epidemiology and Evolutionary Genetics in Infectious Diseases
Ambroise D AhouidiManoj T Duraisingh

Abstract

Plasmodium falciparum, the causative agent of human malaria, invades host erythrocytes using several proteins on the surface of the invasive merozoite, which have been proposed as potential vaccine candidates. Members of the multi-gene PfRh family are surface antigens that have been shown to play a central role in directing merozoites to alternative erythrocyte receptors for invasion. Recently, we identified a large structural polymorphism, a 0.58Kb deletion, in the C-terminal region of the PfRh2b gene, present at a high frequency in parasite populations from Senegal. We hypothesize that this region is a target of humoral immunity. Here, by analyzing 371 P. falciparum isolates we show that this major allele is present at varying frequencies in different populations within Senegal, Africa, and throughout the world. For allelic dimorphisms in the asexual stage antigens, Msp-2 and EBA-175, we find minimal geographic differentiation among parasite populations from Senegal and other African localities, suggesting extensive gene flow among these populations and/or immune-mediated frequency-dependent balancing selection. In contrast, we observe a higher level of inter-population divergence (as measured by F(st)) for the PfRh2b deletio...Continue Reading

References

Dec 1, 1990·Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology·A W ThomasJ A Lyon
Jul 1, 1993·Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology·L A WareD E Lanar
Feb 16, 2000·Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene·G SnounouS Viriyakosol
Apr 12, 2001·Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology·E H HoffmannM U Ferreira
May 18, 2001·Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology·R H BinksD J Conway
Nov 1, 2001·Trends in Parasitology·P AwadallaM Mackinnon
Jan 5, 2002·Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology·Ananias A EscalanteAltaf A Lal
Jun 10, 2003·Parasitology·A A Abdel-MuhsinH A Babiker
Aug 12, 2005·Molecular Biology and Evolution·Tim J C AndersonFrançois Nosten
Jul 14, 2006·Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology·Federica VerraDavid J Conway
Dec 13, 2006·Nature Genetics·Sarah K VolkmanDyann F Wirth
May 2, 2007·Infection and Immunity·Cameron V JenningsManoj T Duraisingh

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

Dec 18, 2013·PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases·James HesterDavid Serre
Nov 29, 2015·Molecular Biology and Evolution·Ian H CheesemanTim J C Anderson
Dec 13, 2017·Molecules : a Journal of Synthetic Chemistry and Natural Product Chemistry·Hernando CurtidorManuel E Patarroyo

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Antimalarial Agents (ASM)

Antimalarial agents, also known as antimalarials, are designed to prevent or cure malaria. Discover the latest research on antimalarial agents here.

Antimalarial Agents

Antimalarial agents, also known as antimalarials, are designed to prevent or cure malaria. Discover the latest research on antimalarial agents here.