Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 25, 2026

Protocol for Production of a Genetic Cross of the Rodent Malaria Parasites
Published on: January 3, 2011
The origin of malaria: mixed messages from genetic diversity
1Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA. dhartl@oeb.harvard.edu
Abstract:
Over the past 35 years, the incidence of malaria has increased 2-3-fold. At present, it affects 300-500 million people and causes about 1 million deaths, primarily in Africa. The continuing upsurge has come from a coincidence of drug-resistant parasites, insecticide-resistant mosquitoes, global climate change and continuing poverty and political instability. An analogous rapid increase in malaria might have taken place about 10,000 years ago. Patterns of genetic variation in mitochondrial DNA support this model, but variation in nuclear genes gives an ambiguous message. Resolving these discrepancies has implications for the evolution of drug resistance and vaccine evasion.
Related Concept Videos
Malaria
Genetic Variation
Genes exist in different versions called alleles, which...
Gene Flow
Symbiosis
Mutation, Gene Flow, and Genetic Drift
Diversity of Protists II

