Diversity of Merozoite Surface Protein-3p Gene of Plasmodium vivax Isolates from Iran

Background: plasmodium vivax malaria accounts for approximately 88% of malaria cases in iran. there is limited information on genetic diversity of p. vivax in the country and a need to develop and apply an effective vaccine against the disease is necessary. among many potential candidates, msp -3/3 gene is promising target. this study was designed and carried out to determine the variation of this gene as genetic marker in population of malarious areas of iran. methods: blood sample of 85 p. vivax isolates from four southern and east-southern provinces of the country assessed for polymorphism of pvmsp-3/5 gene by pcr/rflp method.results: based on the size of pcr product of the gene, 7 genetically different types of parasite has been distinguished. two alleles were simultaneously visible in 19 % of the cases. results from pcr/rflp analysis of pvmsp-3fi gene showed at least 15 allelic groups. multiple infections have been found in 2.4 % of the cases.conclusion: pvmsp-3[i gene was highly diverse in p. vivax isolates of malarious areas of iran, and can be a suitable marker for population genetic studies of p. vivax. more investigations on pvmsp-3fl genes are needed to reveal genetic structure of p. vivax in iran.