Malaria in the ‘Omics Era’

Abstract

Genomics has revolutionised the study of the biology of parasitic diseases. The first Eukaryotic parasite to have its genome sequenced was the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Since then, Plasmodium genomics has continued to lead the way in the study of the genome biology of parasites, both in breadth—the number of Plasmodium species’ genomes sequenced—and in depth—massive-scale genome re-sequencing of several key species. Here, we review some of the insights into the biology, evolution and population genetics of Plasmodium gained from genome sequencing, and look at potential new avenues in the future genome-scale study of its biology.

High-Throughput Antibody Profiling Identifies Targets of Protective Immunity against P. falciparum Malaria in Thailand

“…Second, the domain was also identified in studies in Uganda, where the domain-specific antibody levels were associated with protection against clinical malaria [ 16 ]. Although the sites in these studies are located on different regions with different malaria endemicity and host genetic backgrounds [ 36 ], the data could indicate that the same PfEMP1 domain is an important factor in immunity against clinical malaria. Functionally, the PF3D7_1150400 DBLβ3_D4 domain is known to bind to the intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) receptor on the host endothelial cell and could be involved in parasite sequestration [ 37 ].…”

Paving the Way: Contributions of Big Data to Apicomplexan and Kinetoplastid Research

“…The genomes of Plasmodium spp. are haploid, both in cell culture and in the vertebrate host, with approximately 23 Mb in size and encode for ~5500 genes throughout 14 well-defined chromosomes ( Pegoraro and Weedall, 2021 ). The biggest challenge for Plasmodium genome sequencing has been their extremely low GC content [21-23% compared to 56% in the mouse genome ( Videvall, 2018 )], although modern technologies have become less sensitive to this difference.…”