A superfamily of variant genes encoded in the subtelomeric region of Plasmodium vivax

Hernando A. del Portillo (), Carmen Fernandez-Becerra, Sharen Bowman, Karen Oliver, Martin Preuss, Cecilia P. Sanchez, Nick K. Schneider, Juan M. Villalobos, Marie-Adele Rajandream, David Harris, Luiz H. Pereira da Silva, Bart Barrell and Michael Lanzer
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Hernando A. del Portillo: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo
Carmen Fernandez-Becerra: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo
Sharen Bowman: Pathogen Sequencing Unit, Sanger Centre, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus
Karen Oliver: Pathogen Sequencing Unit, Sanger Centre, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus
Martin Preuss: Hygiene-Institut, Universität Heidelberg, INF 324
Cecilia P. Sanchez: Hygiene-Institut, Universität Heidelberg, INF 324
Nick K. Schneider: Hygiene-Institut, Universität Heidelberg, INF 324
Juan M. Villalobos: Centro de Pesquisa em Medicina Tropical (CEPEM) , Estrada BR 364 – Km 4,5, Porto Velho
Marie-Adele Rajandream: Pathogen Sequencing Unit, Sanger Centre, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus
David Harris: Pathogen Sequencing Unit, Sanger Centre, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus
Luiz H. Pereira da Silva: Centro de Pesquisa em Medicina Tropical (CEPEM) , Estrada BR 364 – Km 4,5, Porto Velho
Bart Barrell: Pathogen Sequencing Unit, Sanger Centre, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus
Michael Lanzer: Hygiene-Institut, Universität Heidelberg, INF 324

Nature, 2001, vol. 410, issue 6830, 839-842

Abstract: Abstract The malarial parasite Plasmodium vivax causes disease in humans, including chronic infections and recurrent relapses, but the course of infection is rarely fatal1,2, unlike that caused by Plasmodium falciparum. To investigate differences in pathogenicity between P. vivax and P. falciparum, we have compared the subtelomeric domains in the DNA of these parasites. In P. falciparum, subtelomeric domains are conserved and contain ordered arrays of members of multigene families, such as var3,4,5, rif6,7 and stevor8, encoding virulence determinants of cytoadhesion and antigenic variation. Here we identify, through the analysis of a continuous 155,711-base-pair sequence of a P. vivax chromosome end, a multigene family called vir, which is specific to P. vivax. The vir genes are present at about 600–1,000 copies per haploid genome and encode proteins that are immunovariant in natural infections, indicating that they may have a functional role in establishing chronic infection through antigenic variation.

Date: 2001
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DOI: 10.1038/35071118

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