<i>Plasmodium falciparum</i> K13 mutations in Africa and Asia impact artemisinin resistance and parasite fitness.

ABSTRACT: The emergence of mutant K13-mediated artemisinin (ART) resistance in Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasites has led to widespread treatment failures across Southeast Asia. In Africa, K13-propeller genotyping confirms the emergence of the R561H mutation in Rwanda and highlights the continuing dominance of wild-type K13 elsewhere. Using gene editing, we show that R561H, along with C580Y and M579I, confer elevated in vitro ART resistance in some African strains, contrasting with minimal changes in ART susceptibility in others. C580Y and M579I cause substantial fitness costs, which may slow their dissemination in high-transmission settings, in contrast with R561H that in African 3D7 parasites is fitness neutral. In Cambodia, K13 genotyping highlights the increasing spatio

SUBMITTER: Stokes BH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8321553 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature