Genome organization and genetics of Plasmodium
Frontali, C.; Walliker, D.; Mons, B.
Acta Leidensia 60(1): 13-17
1991
ISSN/ISBN: 0065-1362 PMID: 1820700 Document Number: 368458
This short review looks at the present understanding of the genetic material of malaria parasites and its structural behaviour. The genome structure and the genetic mechanisms operational in Plasmodium are not essentially different from other lower eukaryotes but in some details, such as the extreme (80%) AT-richness of the DNA, the unusually polymorphic chromosomes and the extremely rapid DNA synthesis preceding micro-gamete formation, the differences are striking. These features combined with the enormous number of individual parasites present in a single infected person mean that an unusual variety of genotypes is likely to be subjected to environmental selective pressures imposed by the immune system and by antimalarials.