Malaria protection due to sickle haemoglobin depends on parasite genotype.

ABSTRACT: Host genetic factors can confer resistance against malaria¹, raising the question of whether this has led to evolutionary adaptation of parasite populations. Here we searched for association between candidate host and parasite genetic variants in 3,346 Gambian and Kenyan children with severe malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum. We identified a strong association between sickle haemoglobin (HbS) in the host and three regions of the parasite genome, which is not explained by population structure or other covariates, and which is replicated in additional samples. The HbS-associated alleles include nonsynonymous variants in the gene for the acyl-CoA synthetase family member^2-4 PfACS8 on chromosome 2, in a second region of chromosome 2, and in a region containing struc

SUBMITTER: Band G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8810385 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature