Korean J Parasitol.  2017 Apr;55(2):159-165. 10.3347/kjp.2017.55.2.159.

PCR-RFLP for Rapid Subtyping of Plasmodium vivax Korean Isolates

• Kang JM
• Lee J
• Kim TI
• Koh EH
• Kim TS
• Sohn WM
• Na BK

• KMID: 2379418
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3347/kjp.2017.55.2.159

Abstract

Vivax malaria reemerged in Korea in 1993 and the outbreak has been continued with fluctuating numbers of annual indigenous cases. Understanding the nature of the genetic population of Plasmodium vivax circulating in Korea is beneficial for the knowledge of the nationwide parasite heterogeneity and in the implementation of malaria control programs in the country. Previously, we analyzed polymorphic nature of merozoite surface protein-1 (MSP-1) and MSP-3α in Korean P. vivax population and identified the Korean P. vivax population has been diversifying rapidly, with the appearance of parasites with new genetic subtypes, despite the recent reduction of the disease incidence. In the present study, we developed simple PCR-RFLP methods for rapid subtyping of MSP-1 and MSP-3α of Korean P. vivax isolates. These PCR-RFLP methods were able to easily distinguish each subtype of Korean P. vivax MSP-1 and MSP-3α with high accuracy. The PCR-RFLP subtyping methods developed here would be easily applied to massive epidemiological studies for molecular surveillance to understand genetic population of P. vivax and to supervise the genetic variation of the parasite circulating in Korea.

Keyword

Plasmodium vivax; RCR-RFLP; MSP-1; MSP-3α; subtyping

MeSH Terms

Epidemiologic Studies
Genetic Variation
Incidence
Korea
Malaria
Malaria, Vivax
Merozoite Surface Protein 1
Parasites
Plasmodium vivax*
Plasmodium*
Population Characteristics
Merozoite Surface Protein 1