Dna Sequence Polymorphism of the Lactate Dehydrogenase Genefrom Iranian Plasmodium Vivax and Plasmodium Falciparum Isolates



Getacher Feleke D¹ ; Nateghpour M^{1, 2} ; Motevalli Haghi A¹ ; Hajjaran H¹ ; Farivar L¹ ; Mohebali M¹ ; Raoofian R³ Show Affiliations
Source: Iranian Journal of Parasitology Published:2015

Abstract

Background: Parasite lactate dehydrogenase (pLDH) is extensively employed as malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs). Moreover, it is a well-known drug target candidate. However, the genetic diversity of this gene might influence perfor-mance of RDT kits and its drug target candidacy. This study aimed to determine polymorphism of pLDH gene from Iranian isolates of P. vivax and P. falciparum. Methods: Genomic DNA was extracted from whole blood of microscopically confirmed P. vivax and P. falciparum infected patients. pLDH gene of P. falciparum and P. vivax was amplified using conventional PCR from 43 symptomatic malaria patients from Sistan and Baluchistan Province, Southeast Iran from 2012 to 2013. Results: Sequence analysis of 15 P. vivax LDH showed fourteen had 100% iden-tity with P. vivax Sal-1 and Belem strains. Two nucleotide substitutions were de-tected with only one resulted in amino acid change. Analysis of P. falciparum LDH sequences showed six of the seven sequences had 100% homology with P. falciparum 3D7 and Mzr-1. Moreover, PfLDH displayed three nucleotide changes that resulted in changing only one amino acid. PvLDH and PfLDH showed 75%- 76% nucleotide and 90.4%-90.76% amino acid homology. Conclusion: pLDH gene from Iranian P. falciparum and P. vivax isolates dis-played 98.8-100% homology with 1-3 nucleotide substitutions. This indicated this gene was relatively conserved. Additional studies can be done weather this genetic variation can influence the performance of pLDH based RDTs or not. © 2015, Iranian Journal of Parasitology. All Rights Reserved.