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The polymorphic 11.1 locus of Plasmodium falciparum
B Kahane1, L Sibilli, A Scherf
1Unité de Parasitologie Expérimentale, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology
|November 1, 1987
Summary
Clone pPF11.1 encodes a Plasmodium falciparum antigen. Analysis of the genomic region revealed tandem repeats, suggesting gene duplication and high polymorphism, making it a sensitive probe for typing Plasmodium falciparum strains.
Area of Science:
- Malariology
- Genomics
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Plasmodium falciparum causes severe malaria.
- The intraerythrocytic cycle involves parasite antigens.
- Tandem repeats are common in Plasmodium falciparum genes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the genomic region encoding the P. falciparum antigen pPF11.1.
- To investigate the structure and polymorphism of the 11.1 locus.
- To evaluate the utility of pPF11.1 repeats as a typing probe.
Main Methods:
- Genomic DNA extraction from Plasmodium falciparum strains.
- Restriction mapping of the 11.1 genomic region.
- Southern blot analysis to assess polymorphism.
Main Results:
- The 11.1 genomic region spans over 30 kb and contains two large blocks of tandem repeats.
- Restriction mapping suggests a possible gene duplication event.
- The 11.1 locus is present in all examined P. falciparum strains but is highly polymorphic.
- Southern analysis of 8 isolates confirmed high polymorphism.
Conclusions:
- The pPF11.1 locus is a conserved but polymorphic region in Plasmodium falciparum.
- The tandem repeats within the 11.1 locus are valuable for discriminating between P. falciparum strains.
- pPF11.1 repeats serve as a sensitive and discriminating probe for Plasmodium falciparum strain typing.