The transcriptome of Plasmodium vivax reveals divergence and diversity of transcriptional regulation in malaria parasites.
Plasmodium vivax causes over 100 million clinical infections each year. Primarily because of the lack of a suitable culture system, our understanding of the biology of this parasite lags significantly behind that of the more deadly species P. falciparum. Here, we present the complete transcriptional profile throughout the 48-h intraerythrocytic cycle of three distinct P. vivax isolates. This approach identifies strain specific patterns of expression for subsets of genes predicted to encode proteins associated with virulence and host pathogen interactions. Comparison to P. falciparum revealed significant differences in the expression of genes involved in crucial cellular functions that underpin the biological differences between the two parasite species. These data provide insights into the biology of P. vivax and constitute an important resource for the development of therapeutic approaches.
School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637551.
Zbynek
Z
Bozdech
Sachel
S
Mok
Guangan
G
Hu
Mallika
M
Imwong
Anchalee
A
Jaidee
Bruce
B
Russell
Hagai
H
Ginsburg
Francois
F
Nosten
Nicholas P J
NP
Day
Nicholas J
NJ
White
Jane M
JM
Carlton
Peter R
PR
Preiser
D000818:Animals; D002875:Chromosomes / Q000235:genetics; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000235:genetics*; D008288:Malaria / Q000235:genetics*; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000235:genetics; D010966:Plasmodium vivax / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D050436:Regulatory Elements, Transcriptional / Q000235:genetics; D014158:Transcription, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*