Single-nucleotide polymorphisms and genome diversity in Plasmodium vivax

• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1232502100
• Publication Date: 2003-07-08T19:18:15Z
• Authors: Xiaorong Feng; Jane M. Carlton; Deirdre A. Joy; Jianbing Mu; Tetsuya Furuya; Bernard B. Suh; Yufeng Wang; John W. Barnwell; Xin-Zhuan Su
• Keywords: Intergenic region; Nucleotide diversity

The study of genetic variation in malaria parasites has practical significance for developing strategies to control the disease. Vaccines based on highly polymorphic antigens may be confounded by allelic restriction host immune response. In response drug pressure, a plastic genome generate resistant mutants more easily than monomorphic one. Additionally, distribution genomic polymorphisms provide information leading identification genes associated with traits such as parasite development and resistance. Indeed, age diversity human Plasmodium falciparum been subject recent debate, because an ancient complex is expected present greater challenges vaccine development. important pathogen vivax, however, remains essentially unknown. Here we analyze approximately 100-kb contiguous chromosome segment from five isolates, revealing 191 single-nucleotide (SNPs) 44 size polymorphisms. SNPs are not evenly distributed across blocks high low diversity. Whereas majority (approximately 63%) intergenic regions, introns contain significantly less sequences. Polymorphic tandem repeats abundant uniformly at frequency about one repeat per 3 kb. These data show that P. vivax diverse genome, useful further understanding parasite.