AUTHOR=Hu Fengyue , Zou Qicheng , Li Yinyue , Zhu Guoding , Zhou Huayun , Zhang Meihua , Tian Fang , Liu Yaobao , Lu Feng 

TITLE=A PCR-Based Technique to Track the Geographic Origin of Plasmodium falciparum With 23-SNP Barcode Analysis

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 9 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2021.649170

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2021.649170

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=Increased population movement has increased the risk of re-introducing parasites to elimination areas, and also dispersing drug-resistant parasites to new regions. Therefore, reliable and repeatable methods to trace-back the source of imported infections are essential. The recently developed 23-single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) barcode from organellar genomes of mitochondrion (mt) and apicoplast (apico) provides a valuable tool to locate the geographic origin of Plasmodium falciparum. This study aims to explore the feasibility of using the 23-SNP barcode for tracking P. falciparum by PCR and sequencing, meanwhile provides geographically haplotypes of isolates originated from Central Africa. Based on 23-SNP barcode analysis, SNPs were found at 7 loci, 27 isolates were confirmed to have originated in West Africa, and this study also showed 4 isolates from Central Africa (Equatorial Guinea, 3; Republic of Congo, 1) originated in East Africa. This study provides the sequence data from Central Africa and fills 23-SNP barcode data gaps that sample origins.