ARTICLES; Comparative genomics of the neglected human malaria parasite Plasmodium vivax

The human malaria parasite Plasmodium vivax is responsible for 25–40 % of the,515 million annual cases of malaria worldwide. Although seldom fatal, the parasite elicits severe and incapacitating clinical symptoms and often causes relapses months after a primary infection has cleared.< Despite its importance as a major human pathogen, P. vivax is little studied because it cannot be propagated continuously in the laboratory except in non-human primates. We determined the genome sequence of P. vivax to shed light on its distinctive biological features, and as ameans to drive development of new drugs and vaccines. Here we describe the synteny and isochore structure of P. vivax chromosomes, and show that the parasite resembles other malaria parasites in gene content and metabolic potential, but possesses novel gene families and potential alternative invasion pathways not recognized previously. Completion of the P. vivax genome provides the scientific community with a valuable resource that can be used to advance scientific investigation into this neglected species. Plasmodium vivax is the major cause of malaria outside Africa, mainly afflicting Asia and the Americas1. Principally a disease affect-ing poor people living on themargins of developing economies, vivax malaria traps many societies in a relentless cycle of poverty.= Intermittent transmission makes protective immunity rare, and the disease strikes all ages. Repeated acute febrile episodes of debilitatin