Genomic insights into Plasmodium vivax population structure and diversity in central Africa

Plasmodium vivax malaria has not traditionally been a major concern in central Africa given the high prevalence of the human Duffy-negative phenotype that is believed to prevent infection. Increasing reports of asymptomatic and symptomatic infections in Duffy-negative individuals throughout Africa raise the possibility that P. vivax is evolving to evade host resistance, but there are few parasite samples with genomic data available from this part of the world. In this study, we perform whole genome sequencing of a new P. vivax isolate from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and assess how this central African isolate fits into the global context of this species. We use population genomics methods to show that P. vivax from DRC is similar to other African parasite populations and is not closely related to the non-human primate parasite P. vivax-like. Significance The second most common malaria species to infect humans, Plasmodium vivax, is not considered a major threat to human health in central Africa because people in this region frequently have a genetic variant that prevents the P. vivax species from being able to cause illness. Recent research shows that P. vivax can be found in individuals who should be immune, but there is insufficient data to understand why. Our study investigates the genome of one P. vivax sample collected from central Africa to show that the DRC population is closely related to other P.vivax populations in Africa.