PvMSP-3a and PvMSP-3ß genotyping reveals higher genetic diversity in Plasmodium vivax parasites from migrant workers than residents at the China-Myanmar border

Authors: LI, XIAOSONG - Kunming Medical University; BAI, YAO - Kunming Medical University; WU, YANRUI - Kunming Medical University; ZENG, WEILIN - Kunming Medical University; XIANG, ZHENG - Kunming Medical University; ZHAO, HUI - Kunming Medical University; ZHAO, WEI - Kunming Medical University; CHEN, XI - Kunming Medical University; DUAN, MENGXI - Kunming Medical University; WANG, XUN - Kunming Medical University; ZHU, WENYA - Kunming Medical University; SUN, KEMIN - Kunming Medical University; WU, YIMAN - Kunming Medical University; ZHANG, YANMEI - Kunming Medical University; QIN, YUCHENG - Shanglin County People’s Hospital; Rosenthal, Benjamin; CUI, LIWANG - University Of South Florida College Of Medicine; YANG, ZHAOQING - Kunming Medical University

Submitted to: Infection, Genetics and Evolution
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/9/2022
Publication Date: 11/18/2022
Citation: Li, X., Bai, Y., Wu, Y., Zeng, W., Xiang, Z., Zhao, H., Zhao, W., Chen, X., Duan, M., Wang, X., Zhu, W., Sun, K., Wu, Y., Zhang, Y., Qin, Y., Rosenthal, B.M., Cui, L., Yang, Z. 2022. PvMSP-3a and PvMSP-3ß genotyping reveals higher genetic diversity in Plasmodium vivax parasites from migrant workers than residents at the China-Myanmar border. Infection, Genetics and Evolution. 106.Article 105387. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.meegid.2022.105387.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.meegid.2022.105387

Interpretive Summary: Parasitic infections continue to compromise veterinary and public health, affecting agricultural productivity and human welfare. The intensity of transmission and the age of those infected influences not merely the prevalence of disease but also the rate at which parasites evolve responses to immunity and drug treatment. Here, USDA partnered with Chinese researchers to understand dynamics of the most consequential parasitic threat to human health: malaria. They found that parasites infecting indigenous residents of rural Myanmar differed from those infecting adult migrant workers who had not encountered infection as children. These data augment a One Health perspective that will interest epidemiologists, public health professionals, and parasitologists interested in how movement of people, or animals, influences the constellation of infections they encounter.

Technical Abstract: Background: The family of P. vivax merozoite surface protein 3 (PvMSP-3), a secreted surface protein and candidate antigen for malaria vaccines, is highly polymorphic, and these genetic diversities can offer important information to develop vaccines. The genetic diversity of malaria parasites traces the origin and spread of new variants, and can be used to evaluate malaria control measures. The impact on population structure will depend on the spatial and temporal scales of interventions, so population analysis of P. vivax is particularly important. There are limited reports from the border of China-Myanmar. Therefore, this study aims to improve the understanding of molecular epidemiology of Plasmodium by using the haploid diversity, population evolutionary history and linkage disequilibrium (LD) of PvMSP-3a and PvMSP-3ß genes. Both major surface protein genes are undergoing diversifying selection in each population sample. More allelic polymorphism occurs in the infections of migrant laborers returning to Tengchong than among the residents of Kachin. Some clustering of alleles supports ephemeral endemic differentiation of alleles, but the broader phylogeny suggests that alleles transit the globe, perhaps accelerated by movements of migrants such as those transiting Tengchong who contracted infection while working in Myitsone, Myanmar.