Malaria's many guises

is a genetically diverse and complex organism with mechanisms to evade host immunity and other antimalarial efforts.

| 1 min read

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
1:00
Share

Understanding the genetic variation of the malarial parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, is of enormous importance in the continued fight against this public health scourge, but the degree of genetic diversity Plasmodium possesses has been unclear. Two papers in 18 July Nature, show that P. falciparum is a genetically diverse and complex organism with mechanisms to evade both host immunity and other pharmaceutical antimalarial efforts.

John Wootton and colleagues at the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland, examined microsatellite markers covering the 14 haploid chromosomes of P. falciparum. They observed that the level of genetic diversity varies substantially among different regions of the parasite genome, revealing extensive linkage disequilibrium surrounding the key chloroquine resistance gene (CQR) pfcrt and at least four CQR founder events (Nature 2002, 418:320-323).

In the second paper, Jianbing Mu and colleagues also at NIH, analyzed single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from 204 genes on chromosome 3 of ...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to more than 35 years of archives, as well as TS Digest, digital editions of The Scientist, feature stories, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here

Meet the Author

  • Tudor Toma

    This person does not yet have a bio.
Share
3D illustration of a gold lipid nanoparticle with pink nucleic acid inside of it. Purple and teal spikes stick out from the lipid bilayer representing polyethylene glycol.
February 2025, Issue 1

A Nanoparticle Delivery System for Gene Therapy

A reimagined lipid vehicle for nucleic acids could overcome the limitations of current vectors.

View this Issue
Considerations for Cell-Based Assays in Immuno-Oncology Research

Considerations for Cell-Based Assays in Immuno-Oncology Research

Lonza
An illustration of animal and tree silhouettes.

From Water Bears to Grizzly Bears: Unusual Animal Models

Taconic Biosciences
Sex Differences in Neurological Research

Sex Differences in Neurological Research

bit.bio logo
New Frontiers in Vaccine Development

New Frontiers in Vaccine Development

Sino

Products

Tecan Logo

Tecan introduces Veya: bringing digital, scalable automation to labs worldwide

Explore a Concise Guide to Optimizing Viral Transduction

A Visual Guide to Lentiviral Gene Delivery

Takara Bio
Inventia Life Science

Inventia Life Science Launches RASTRUM™ Allegro to Revolutionize High-Throughput 3D Cell Culture for Drug Discovery and Disease Research

An illustration of differently shaped viruses.

Detecting Novel Viruses Using a Comprehensive Enrichment Panel

Twist Bio