Genetics and Genomics of Malaria Parasites

Dear Colleagues,

In 2016, the World Health Organization estimated that 3.4 billion people were at risk of malaria, with approximately 80% of malaria cases and 90% of deaths occurring in sub-Saharan Africa. In non-human primates, approximately 25 malaria parasite species have been described. Among them, six species including Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax. P. malariae, P. ovale, P. knowlesi, and P. simium are known to infect humans, causing malaria. Plasmodium falciparum is responsible for hundreds of millions of cases of malaria, and kills about half a million annually. While P. falciparum causes most malaria mortality, P. vivax can also cause severe disease and, rarely, death.

The genetics and genomics of malaria parasites reveal evolutionary processes/mechanisms and inheritance patterns. Genetic information helps track the movement of infectious pathogens as well as the response to malaria interventions over time. The advent and accessibility of high-throughput sequencing technologies and bioinformatic tools in the last decade provides remarkable insights into the global genetic structure, genomic composition, and recombination rates, as well as genetic variants associated with antimalarial drug resistance of Plasmodium. Global malaria elimination programs focus primarily on P. falciparum. Nevertheless, non-P. falciparum malaria still presents a major challenge for malaria elimination. Recent research efforts and control programs have drawn resources to P. vivax malaria. In contrast, other Plasmodium species receive little attention, and malaria caused by these organisms is among the most neglected tropical diseases.

This Special Issue will cover the genetic and/or genomic features of the various malaria parasite species in the context of disease epidemiology, evolution, functions of genes or gene products, and host–pathogen interactions. We cordially invite researchers working in these areas to contribute to this Special Issue with original research or reviews.

Prof. Eugenia Lo
Prof. Liwang Cui
Guest Editors

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