The <i>Plasmodium knowlesi</i> Pk41 surface protein diversity, natural selection, sub population and geographical clustering: a 6-cysteine protein family member

Abstract

This is the first study to report on the polymorphism and natural selection of <i>pk41</i> genes from clinical isolates of Malaysia. The results reveal that there is low level of polymorphism in both s48/45 domains, indicating that this antigen could be a potential vaccine target. However, genetic and molecular immunology studies involving higher number of samples from various parts of Malaysia would be necessary to validate this antigen's candidacy as a vaccine target for <i>P. knowlesi</i>.