Chloroquine resistance evolution in Plasmodium falciparum is mediated by the putative amino acid transporter AAT1.

ABSTRACT: Malaria parasites break down host haemoglobin into peptides and amino acids in the digestive vacuole for export to the parasite cytoplasm for growth: interrupting this process is central to the mode of action of several antimalarial drugs. Mutations in the chloroquine (CQ) resistance transporter, pfcrt, located in the digestive vacuole membrane, confer CQ resistance in Plasmodium falciparum, and typically also affect parasite fitness. However, the role of other parasite loci in the evolution of CQ resistance is unclear. Here we use a combination of population genomics, genetic crosses and gene editing to demonstrate that a second vacuolar transporter plays a key role in both resistance and compensatory evolution. Longitudinal genomic analyses of the Gambian parasites revealed temporal sign

SUBMITTER: Amambua-Ngwa A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10322710 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature