Genes, Vol. 12, Pages 1903: Genetic Polymorphism and Natural Selection of Apical Membrane Antigen-1 in Plasmodium falciparum Isolates from Vietnam

Genes, Vol. 12, Pages 1903: Genetic Polymorphism and Natural Selection of Apical Membrane Antigen-1 in Plasmodium falciparum Isolates from Vietnam Genes doi: 10.3390/genes12121903 Authors: Jung-Mi Kang Hương Giang Lê Tuấn Cường Võ Haung Naw Won Gi Yoo Woon-Mok Sohn Nguyen Thi Minh Trinh Huynh-Hong Quang Byoung-Kuk Na Apical membrane antigen-1 of Plasmodium falciparum (PfAMA-1) is a leading malaria vaccine candidate antigen. However, the genetic diversity of pfama-1 and associated antigenic variation in global P. falciparum field isolates are major hurdles to the design of an efficacious vaccine formulated with this antigen. Here, we analyzed the genetic structure and the natural selection of pfama-1 in the P. falciparum population of Vietnam. A total of 37 distinct haplotypes were found in 131 P. falciparum Vietnamese isolates. Most amino acid changes detected in Vietnamese pfama-1 were localized in the ectodomain, domains I, II, and III. Overall patterns of major amino acid changes in Vietnamese pfama-1 were similar to those of global pfama-1, but the frequencies of the amino acid changes slightly differed by country. Novel amino acid changes were also identified in Vietnamese pfama-1. Vietnamese pfama-1 revealed relatively lower genetic diversity than currently analyzed pfama-1 in other geographical regions, and suggested a distinct genetic differentiation pattern. Evidence for natural selection was detected in Vietnamese pfama-1, but it sho...
Source: Genes - Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Tags: Article Source Type: research