biostudies-literatureUnknown13(11)Ahmed MAThe simian malaria parasite <i>Plasmodium knowlesi</i> causes a high number of zoonotic infections in Malaysia. The thrombospondin-related apical merozoite protein (TRAMP) is an essential ligand for binding to the erythrocyte cell surface, whereby it facilitates the invasion. This study is the first attempt to determine the genetic diversity, phylogeography, natural selection and population structure from 97 full-length <i>PkTRAMP</i> gene sequences originating from Malaysia. We found low levels of nucleotide diversity (π~0.0065) for the full-length gene despite samples originating from geographically separated regions (i.e., Peninsular Malaysia and Malaysian Borneo). The rate of synonymous substitutions was significantly higher than that of non-synonymous substitutions, indicating a purifGenes1944https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC9689803biostudies-literatureGenetic Diversity and Population Genetic Structure Analysis of <i>Plasmodium knowlesi</i> Thrombospondin-Related Apical Merozoite Protein (TRAMP) in Clinical Samples.PMC9689803Deshmukh GYSalam SSPatgiri SJQuan FSSaif AAlshahrani MAZaidi RHElfaki MMAAhmed MAHan JHfalseGenetic Diversity and Population Genetic Structure Analysis of <i>Plasmodium knowlesi</i> Thrombospondin-Related Apical Merozoite Protein (TRAMP) in Clinical Samples.The simian malaria parasite <i>Plasmodium knowlesi</i> causes a high number of zoonotic infections in Malaysia. The thrombospondin-related apical merozoite protein (TRAMP) is an essential ligand for binding to the erythrocyte cell surface, whereby it facilitates the invasion. This study is the first attempt to determine the genetic diversity, phylogeography, natural selection and population structure from 97 full-length <i>PkTRAMP</i> gene sequences originating from Malaysia. We found low levels of nucleotide diversity (π~0.0065) for the full-length gene despite samples originating from geographically separated regions (i.e., Peninsular Malaysia and Malaysian Borneo). The rate of synonymous substitutions was significantly higher than that of non-synonymous substitutions, indicating a purif2022-01-01T00:00:00Z2022 Oct2025-04-19T16:13:42.351Z2025-04-19T16:13:42.351ZS-EPMC96898033636018110.3390/genes13111944