Measure genomic change between strains of Plasmodium falciparum in laboratory and after gene manipulation. Malaria vaccine study

An approach to vaccination against malaria is being explored using variant strains in which the gene for knob-associated histidine-rich protein (KAHRP, PF3D7_0202000) is disabled. Initially two sub-clones of the P. falciparum strain 3D7-WT were made by knocking out the KAHRP gene, and inserting a construct. In one of the clones, this construct was subsequently removed, and this clone is to be assessed for suitability as a malaria vaccine. The P. falciparum strain 3D7Q-TS is included for comparison. Part of the study is to characterize differences between 3D7-WT and 3D7Q-TS. In the next stage of the study a strain used to infect volunteers was compared to two samples from infected subjects.