Analysis of PfEMP1—var Gene Sequences in Different Plasmodium falciparum Malarial Parasites

Plasmodium falciparum synthesizes P. falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein-1 (PfEMP-1), a product of the multicopy var gene family, which localizes on the surface of infected erythrocytes. This protein plays an important role in cytoadherence and immune evasion. Comparative analysis of the molecul...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inScholarly Research Exchange Vol. 2009; pp. 1 - 10
Main Authors Ozarkar, Aarti, Prakash, D., Deobagkar, Dileep, Deobagkar, Deepti
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Scholarly Research Exchange 2009
John Wiley & Sons, Inc
Subjects
DNA sequencing
Gene expression
Genetic aspects
Malaria
Methods
Nucleotide sequencing
Physiological aspects
Plasmodium falciparum
India
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Summary:Plasmodium falciparum synthesizes P. falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein-1 (PfEMP-1), a product of the multicopy var gene family, which localizes on the surface of infected erythrocytes. This protein plays an important role in cytoadherence and immune evasion. Comparative analysis of the molecular sequences of the DBLα domain of the var gene from different isolates of the parasite reveals variations in the number of cysteines and presence of small conserved motifs like DGEA, RGD, GAG-binding motifs. Phylogenetic analysis while highlighting the extensive diversity leads to clustered them in separate clades far apart from each other. Discriminant factor analysis of physicochemical properties of amino acid sequences revealed that the aliphatic index, isoelectric point, and instability index have more effect in deciding the variance of different isolates sequences. The origin of diverse repertoire of the DBLα domain in the parasites highlights the complexity of host-parasite relationship in the context of parasite survival.
ISSN:1687-8299
1687-8299
DOI:10.3814/2009/824949