Plasmodium falciparum genetic variation of var2csa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) bears a high burden of malaria, which is exacerbated in pregnant women. The VAR2CSA protein plays a crucial role in pregnancy-associated malaria (PAM), and hence quantifying diversity at the var2csa locus in the DRC is important in understanding the basic epidemiology of PAM, and in developing a robust vaccine against PAM.

Methods

Samples were taken from the 2013-14 Demographic and Health Survey conducted in the DRC, focusing on children under 5 years of age. A short subregion of the var2csa gene was sequenced in 115 spatial clusters, giving country-wide estimates of sequence polymorphism and spatial population structure.

Results

Results indicate that var2csa is highly polymorphic, and that diversity is being maint

SUBMITTER: Verity R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5782373 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature