A new real-time PCR for the detection of Plasmodium ovale wallikeri

It has been proposed that ovale malaria in humans is caused by two closely related but distinct species of malaria parasites: P. ovale curtisi and P. ovale wallikeri. We have extended and optimized a Real-time PCR assay targeting the parasite's small subunit ribosomal RNA (ssrRNA) gene to detec...

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Published inPloS one Vol. 7; no. 10; p. e48033
Main Authors Calderaro, Adriana, Piccolo, Giovanna, Gorrini, Chiara, Montecchini, Sara, Rossi, Sabina, Medici, Maria Cristina, Chezzi, Carlo, Snounou, Georges
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Public Library of Science 24.10.2012
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Subjects
Africa
Assaying
Biology
Culicidae
DNA Barcoding, Taxonomic - methods
DNA, Protozoan - blood
DNA, Protozoan - genetics
Drugs
Epidemiology
Genes
Genes, rRNA - genetics
Health aspects
Humans
Infection
Infections
Laboratories
Malaria
Malaria - blood
Malaria - diagnosis
Malaria - parasitology
Medical diagnosis
Medicine
Parasites
Pathology
Patients
Periodic variations
Periodicity
Plasmodium
Plasmodium falciparum
Plasmodium ovale
Plasmodium ovale - classification
Plasmodium ovale - genetics
Polymerase chain reaction
Real time
Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction - methods
Reproducibility of Results
Ribonucleic acid
Ribosomal RNA
RNA
rRNA
Sensitivity and Specificity
Species
Species Specificity
Studies
Vector-borne diseases
Africa
France
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Summary:It has been proposed that ovale malaria in humans is caused by two closely related but distinct species of malaria parasites: P. ovale curtisi and P. ovale wallikeri. We have extended and optimized a Real-time PCR assay targeting the parasite's small subunit ribosomal RNA (ssrRNA) gene to detect both these species. When the assay was applied to 31 archival blood samples from patients diagnosed with P. ovale, it was found that the infection in 20 was due to P. ovale curtisi and in the remaining 11 to P. ovale wallikeri. Thus, this assay provides a useful tool that can be applied to epidemiological investigations of the two newly recognized distinct P. ovale species, that might reveal if these species also differ in their clinical manifestation, drugs susceptibility and relapse periodicity. The results presented confirm that P. ovale wallikeri is not confined to Southeast Asia, since the majority of the patients analyzed in this study had acquired their P. ovale infection in African countries, mostly situated in West Africa.
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Competing Interests: GS, member of the authors’ research group since 2000 and co-author of their published manuscripts since 2004, currently serves as an Academic Editor for this journal. This does not alter the authors’ adherence to all the PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.
Conceived and designed the experiments: AC GS. Performed the experiments: GP CG SM SR. Analyzed the data: AC GP CG SM MCM CC GS. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: AC GP CG SM MCM CC. Wrote the paper: AC GP CG GS.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0048033