Evolutionary analyses of the major variant surface antigen-encoding genes reveal population structure of Plasmodium falciparum within and between continents.

Malaria remains a major public health problem in many countries. Unlike influenza and HIV, where diversity in immunodominant surface antigens is understood geographically to inform disease surveillance, relatively little is known about the global population structure of PfEMP1, the major variant surface antigen of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. The complexity of the var multigene family that encodes PfEMP1 and that diversifies by recombination, has so far precluded its use in malaria surveillance.

Multiple Novel Mutations in Chloroquine Resistance Transporter Gene during Implementation of Artemisinin Combination Therapy in Thailand.

Mutations in the chloroquine resistance transporter gene of () are associated with drug susceptibility status of chloroquine and other antimalarials that interfere with heme detoxification process including artemisinin. We aim to investigate whether an increase in duration of artemisinin combination therapy (ACT) in Thailand could affect mutations in . The complete coding sequences of and dihydrofolate reductase (), and size polymorphisms of the merozoite surface proteins-1 and 2 ( and ) of 189 isolates collected during 1991 and 2016 were analyzed.

Unraveling Haplotype Diversity of the Apical Membrane Antigen-1 Gene in Populations in Thailand.

Development of an effective vaccine is critically needed for the prevention of malaria. One of the key antigens for malaria vaccines is the apical membrane antigen 1 (-1) of the human malaria parasite , the surface protein for erythrocyte invasion of the parasite. The gene encoding -1 has been sequenced from populations of worldwide, but the haplotype diversity of the gene in populations in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), including Thailand, remains to be characterized.