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Genetic polymorphism of Plasmodium falciparum isolates from Loreto, Peru
Gisely Hijar1, Carlos Padilla, Wilmer Marquiño
1División de Biología Molecular, Instituto Nacional de Salud, Capac Yupanqui, 1400 Jesus Maria, Lima 11, Perú. ghijar@ins.sld.pe
Abstract:
Eight genotypes of Plasmodium falciparum were detected after analysing blood samples obtained from 30 Peruvian jungle-dwelling patients in Loreto, a high transmission area for P. falciparum, using amplification of the polymorphic marker gene GLURP (glutamate-rich protein). Genotypes I (GLURP450) and VIII (GLURP800) were the most common (15/30 and 13/30, respectively). This single copy gene showed 15 patients to be infected with a single genotype of P. falciparum; the other 15 were infected with mixed genotypes, one of them with 4 genotypes. These findings are compatible with a high genetic complexity of P. falciparum. Further investigations are needed, using this and other markers, in order to design malaria control measures in Peru.