Parasites, Hosts and Diseases

The Korea Society for Parasitology and Tropical Medicine (대한기생충학·열대의학회)
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Genetic diversity of Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 in field isolates from central Myanmar

  • Sylvatrie-Danne Dinzouna-Boutamba (Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University) ;
  • Sanghyun Lee (Division of Bio Bigdata, Department of Precision Medicine, Korea National Institute of Health, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency) ;
  • Zin Moon (Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University) ;
  • Dong-Il Chung (Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University) ;
  • Yeonchul Hong (Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University) ;
  • Moe Kyaw Myint (Department of Medical Research Pyin Oo Lwin Branch) ;
  • Haung Naw (Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, Department of Convergence Medical Science, and Institute of Health Sciences, Gyeongsang National University College of Medicine) ;
  • Byoung-Kuk Na (Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, Department of Convergence Medical Science, and Institute of Health Sciences, Gyeongsang National University College of Medicine) ;
  • Youn-Kyoung Goo (Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University)
  • Received : 2022.11.30
  • Accepted : 2022.12.27
  • Published : 2023.02.28
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Abstract

Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1), encoded by the polymorphic var multigene family, is a highly polymorphic antigen that plays a crucial role in the pathology of malaria. The contribution of the genetic diversity of var toward the immune escape of P. falciparum has not yet been fully elucidated. This study aimed to characterize the diversity of var repertoires by screening P. falciparum Duffy-binding-like α domain (PfDBLα) among field isolates from central Myanmar. Genetic analysis revealed that the D-H segments of var in Myanmar populations have an extensive polymorphic repertoire, with high numbers of unique sequence types in each individual. However, var genes from the global population, including Myanmar, shared close genetic lineages regardless of their geographic origins, indicating that they have not undergone rapid evolutionary changes.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This research was financially supported by the Basic Science Research Program (NRF-2019 R1C1C1002170) and Brain Pool program (NRF-2018H1D3A1A02074759) funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF).

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