Single Cell Genomic Dissection of Complex African Malaria Infections Suggest Strong Barriers to Reinfection

• DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.3283705
• Publication Date: 2018-11-22T15:29:32Z
• Authors: Standwell C. Nkhoma; Simon G. Trevino; Karla M. Gorena; Shalini Nair; Stanley Khoswe; Catherine Jett; Roy Garcia; Benjamin Daniel; Aliou Dia; Dianne J. Terlouw; Stephen A. Ward; Timothy J. C. And...; Ian Cheeseman

Malaria patients can carry one or more clonal lineage of the parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. Well-defined, complete haplotypes at single-cell resolution are ideal for describing within-host population structure and unambiguously determining parasite diversity, transmission dynamics recent ancestry but have not been analyzed on a large scale. We generated 485 near-complete genome sequences isolated from fifteen P. falciparum Chikhwawa, Malawi, an area intense malaria transmission. Matched bulk genomic analyses revealed harbored up to seventeen unique lineages. Current statistical approaches were unable accurately reconstruct infection composition sequence data. Analysis relatedness within suggests superinfection by repeated mosquito bites is rarer than co-transmission parasites single mosquito. Our analysis indicates strong barriers establishment secondary infections, providing new insights into biology malaria.