Highly Variable Expression of Merozoite Surface Protein MSPDBL2 in Diverse Plasmodium falciparum Clinical Isolates and Transcriptome Scans for Correlating Genes

Abstract

These findings contribute to understanding malaria parasite antigenic and developmental variation, focusing on the merozoite surface protein encoded by the single locus under strongest balancing selection. Analyzing the initial ex vivo generation of parasites grown from a wide sample of clinical infections, we show a unique and highly skewed pattern of natural expression frequencies of MSPDBL2, distinct from that of any other antigen.