1. Genetic diversity and natural selection on the thrombospondin-related adhesive protein (TRAP) gene of Plasmodium falciparum on Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea and global comparative analysis
- Author
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Li-Yun Lin, Hui-Ying Huang, Xue-Yan Liang, Dong-De Xie, Jiang-Tao Chen, Hua-Gui Wei, Wei-Yi Huang, Carlos Salas Ehapo, Urbano Monsuy Eyi, Jian Li, Jun-Li Wang, Yu-Zhong Zheng, Guang-Cai Zha, Yu-Ling Wang, Wei-Zhong Chen, Xiang-Zhi Liu, Huan-Tong Mo, Xin-Yao Chen, and Min Lin
- Subjects
Plasmodium falciparum thrombospondin-related adhesive protein (PfTRAP) ,Genetic diversity ,Natural selection ,Bioko Island ,Malaria ,Vaccine candidate ,Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine ,RC955-962 ,Infectious and parasitic diseases ,RC109-216 - Abstract
Abstract Background Thrombospondin-related adhesive protein (TRAP) is a transmembrane protein that plays a crucial role during the invasion of Plasmodium falciparum into liver cells. As a potential malaria vaccine candidate, the genetic diversity and natural selection of PfTRAP was assessed and the global PfTRAP polymorphism pattern was described. Methods 153 blood spot samples from Bioko malaria patients were collected during 2016–2018 and the target TRAP gene was amplified. Together with the sequences from database, nucleotide diversity and natural selection analysis, and the structural prediction were preformed using bioinformatical tools. Results A total of 119 Bioko PfTRAP sequences were amplified successfully. On Bioko Island, PfTRAP shows its high degree of genetic diversity and heterogeneity, with π value for 0.01046 and Hd for 0.99. The value of dN–dS (6.2231, p 0.15, p 1) indicated a destabilization of protein structure. Conclusions Evidences in the present investigation supported that PfTRAP gene from Bioko Island and other malaria endemic countries is highly polymorphic (especially at T cell epitopes), which provided the genetic information background for developing an PfTRAP-based universal effective vaccine. Moreover, some mutations have been shown to be detrimental to the protein structure or function and deserve further study and continuous monitoring.
- Published
- 2021
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