Genetic diversity of merozoite surface protein-1 gene of Plasmodium vivax isolates in mining villages of Venezuela (Bolivar State)

The merozoite surface protein-1 gene of Plasmodium vivax is highly polymorphic and so, currently used in epidemiological studies of P. vivax malaria. We sequenced the variable block 5 of the gene from 39 Venezuelan isolates, 18 of which were co-infected with Plasmodium falciparum. We observed a limited variability with 34 isolates belonging to the type Salvador I, none Belem type and only five recombinants. Among the recombinants, only two types of sequences were observed with, respectively, 18 and 21 poly-Q residues. Nucleotide substitutions explained the major differences of the 11 patterns observed. We could evidence neither specific MSP-1 genotype associated with co-infected samples, nor peculiar MSP-1 genotype distribution inside the investigated areas. In comparison with other low endemic regions in the world, our sampling has a lower genetic diversity, which could be mainly explained by the lack of Belem type. In fact, the variable repeats of poly-Q residues involved in the polymorphism of Belem type and recombinant isolates are responsible for a great part of variability observed in MSP-1 block 5.