Polymorphism of Merozoite Surface Protein-3a Gene of Plasmodium vivax in Isolates of Iran

Background: the worldwide distribution of p. vivax has expanded significantly and the number of reported cases has beenon the rise. approximately 88% of malaria cases in iran are caused by plasmodium vivax, and in order to management ofthe disease, understanding the population genetic structure of the parasite is necessary for designing and applying drugs andvaccines. among many potential candidates, merozoite surface protein-3a gene (pvmspsa) is promising target to developan effective vaccine. this study was carried out to determine the variation of this gene, as a genetic marker, in plasmodiumvivax isolates in malarious areas of iran.methods: diversity in pvmsp-3a gene was assessed in 85 plasmodium vivax isolated from four southern and east-southernprovinces of the country by pcr/rflp method. amplification was performed with two primer pair sets in a nested pcrformat and the products were digested by the enzyme hha in rflp method.results: based on the size of the pcr products, we observed three biotypes a (about 1900bp), b (about 1400bp) and c(about 1 loobp) of pvmspsa gene. biotype a was predominant. according to rflp patterns, 10 allelic groups of the genewere observed, that, 7, 2 and 1 groups correspond to the biotype a, b and c, respectively. mixed genotype and multipleinfections were not seen.conclusion: rflp method with hhal enzyme is a useful method for determining the polymorphism of biotype a ofpvmspsa gene.