Partner study description

Microsatellite analysis has previously demonstrated that Plasmodium falciparum populations on the north coast of PNG are organised into distinct subpopulations. If this pattern is observed throughout PNG, maps of population structure may guide malaria control programmes by identifying isolated populations and major routes of transmission. Moreover, the data will provide a framework upon which the origins of imported infections and outbreaks in non-endemic areas can be determined. In this first stage of a much larger study, we have two main objectives: (i) to investigate the population genomics of Plasmodium falciparum in PNG and (ii) to develop SNP markers for defining the population structure of P. falciparum in PNG on a fine scale. Where samples were found to contain Plasmodium vivax data, for example due to mixed infection, this data was contributed to the P. vivax Genome Variation project.

Publications

• Global diversity and balancing selection of 23 leading Plasmodium falciparum candidate vaccine antigens
  Naung et al
  PLoS Computational Biology, 2022; 18(2) e1009801
  10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009801
• Protective Immunity against Severe Malaria in Children Is Associated with a Limited Repertoire of Antibodies to Conserved PfEMP1 Variants
  Tessema et al
  Cell Host & Microbe, 2019; 26(5) 579-590.e5
  10.1016/j.chom.2019.10.012
• An open dataset of Plasmodium falciparum genome variation in 7,000 worldwide samples
  MalariaGEN et. al
  Wellcome Open Research, 2021; 6 42
  10.12688/wellcomeopenres.16168.1
• Emergence of artemisinin-resistant Plasmodium falciparum with kelch13 C580Y mutations on the island of New Guinea
  Miotto et al
  PLoS Pathogens, 2020; 16(12) e1009133
  10.1371/journal.ppat.1009133
• Antibodies to Intercellular Adhesion Molecule 1-Binding Plasmodium falciparum Erythrocyte Membrane Protein 1-DBLbeta Are Biomarkers of Protective Immunity to Malaria in a Cohort of Young Children from Papua New Guinea
  Tessema et al
  Infection and Immunity, 2018; 86 e00485-17
  10.1128/IAI.00485-17
• Genomic analysis of local variation and recent evolution in Plasmodium vivax
  Pearson et al
  Nature Genetics, 2016; 48 959-964
  10.1038/ng.3599