Investigation of a virulence locus on chromosome 9 of Plasmodium falciparum utilising improved transfection technology

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Worldwide, there are approximately 500 million cases of malaria per year with over 1 million deaths, predominately in children under 5 years of age in Africa. We have identified a region of the malaria parasites' genome that we believe is responsible for two aspects of the parasites life cycle. Firstly, there is a gene responsible for the development of the sexual stage of the parasite that allows transmission from humans to mosquitoes and secondly there are two other genes that allow the parasite to evade the human hosts immune system. We intend to investigate these genes using newly developed genetic engineering tools with the ultimate aim of finding agents or vaccines that can block their action, thus preventing either transmission of the parasite or the severe effects of infection.