Household clustering and seasonal genetic variation of Plasmodium falciparum at the community-level in The Gambia
Understanding the genetic diversity and transmission dynamics of Plasmodium falciparum, the causative agent of malaria, is crucial for effective control and elimination efforts. In some endemic regions, malaria is highly seasonal with no or little transmission during up to 8 mo, yet little is known...
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eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
2025-05-01
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| Online Access: | https://elifesciences.org/articles/103047 |
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| author | Marc-Antoine Guery Sukai Ceesay Sainabou Drammeh Fatou K Jaiteh Umberto D'Alessandro Teun Bousema David J Conway Antoine Claessens |
| author_facet | Marc-Antoine Guery Sukai Ceesay Sainabou Drammeh Fatou K Jaiteh Umberto D'Alessandro Teun Bousema David J Conway Antoine Claessens |
| author_sort | Marc-Antoine Guery |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Understanding the genetic diversity and transmission dynamics of Plasmodium falciparum, the causative agent of malaria, is crucial for effective control and elimination efforts. In some endemic regions, malaria is highly seasonal with no or little transmission during up to 8 mo, yet little is known about how seasonality affects the parasite population genetics. Here, we conducted a longitudinal study over 2.5 y on 1516 participants in the Upper River Region of The Gambia. With 425 P. falciparum genetic barcodes genotyped from asymptomatic infections, we developed an identity by descent (IBD) based pipeline and validated its accuracy against 199 parasite genomes sequenced from the same isolates. Genetic relatedness between isolates revealed a very low inbreeding level, suggesting continuous recombination among parasites rather than the dominance of specific strains. However, isolates from the same household were sixfold more likely to be genetically related compared to those from other villages, suggesting close transmission links within households. Seasonal variation also influenced parasite genetics, with most differentiation occurring during the transition from the low transmission season to the subsequent high transmission season. Yet chronic infections presented exceptions, including one individual who had a continuous infection by the same parasite genotype for at least 18 mo. Our findings highlight the burden of asymptomatic chronic malaria carriers and the importance of characterizing the parasite genetic population at the community-level. Most importantly, ‘reactive’ approaches for malaria elimination should not be limited to acute malaria cases but be broadened to households of asymptomatic carriers. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3cfe1c9817fd43a88fafe6b4948c96b6 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2050-084X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | eLife Sciences Publications Ltd |
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| series | eLife |
| spelling | doaj-art-3cfe1c9817fd43a88fafe6b4948c96b62025-08-20T03:47:58ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2025-05-011310.7554/eLife.103047Household clustering and seasonal genetic variation of Plasmodium falciparum at the community-level in The GambiaMarc-Antoine Guery0Sukai Ceesay1Sainabou Drammeh2Fatou K Jaiteh3Umberto D'Alessandro4https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6341-5009Teun Bousema5https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2666-094XDavid J Conway6Antoine Claessens7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4277-0914LPHI, MIVEGEC, University of Montpellier, CNRS, INSERM, Montpellier, FranceMedical Research Council Unit The Gambia at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Banjul, GambiaMedical Research Council Unit The Gambia at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Banjul, GambiaMedical Research Council Unit The Gambia at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Banjul, GambiaMedical Research Council Unit The Gambia at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Banjul, GambiaRadboud University Medical Center, Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Department of Medical Microbiology, Nijmegen, NetherlandsDepartment of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United KingdomLPHI, MIVEGEC, University of Montpellier, CNRS, INSERM, Montpellier, France; Medical Research Council Unit The Gambia at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Banjul, Gambia; Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United KingdomUnderstanding the genetic diversity and transmission dynamics of Plasmodium falciparum, the causative agent of malaria, is crucial for effective control and elimination efforts. In some endemic regions, malaria is highly seasonal with no or little transmission during up to 8 mo, yet little is known about how seasonality affects the parasite population genetics. Here, we conducted a longitudinal study over 2.5 y on 1516 participants in the Upper River Region of The Gambia. With 425 P. falciparum genetic barcodes genotyped from asymptomatic infections, we developed an identity by descent (IBD) based pipeline and validated its accuracy against 199 parasite genomes sequenced from the same isolates. Genetic relatedness between isolates revealed a very low inbreeding level, suggesting continuous recombination among parasites rather than the dominance of specific strains. However, isolates from the same household were sixfold more likely to be genetically related compared to those from other villages, suggesting close transmission links within households. Seasonal variation also influenced parasite genetics, with most differentiation occurring during the transition from the low transmission season to the subsequent high transmission season. Yet chronic infections presented exceptions, including one individual who had a continuous infection by the same parasite genotype for at least 18 mo. Our findings highlight the burden of asymptomatic chronic malaria carriers and the importance of characterizing the parasite genetic population at the community-level. Most importantly, ‘reactive’ approaches for malaria elimination should not be limited to acute malaria cases but be broadened to households of asymptomatic carriers.https://elifesciences.org/articles/103047Malariagenomeepidemiology |
| spellingShingle | Marc-Antoine Guery Sukai Ceesay Sainabou Drammeh Fatou K Jaiteh Umberto D'Alessandro Teun Bousema David J Conway Antoine Claessens Household clustering and seasonal genetic variation of Plasmodium falciparum at the community-level in The Gambia eLife Malaria genome epidemiology |
| title | Household clustering and seasonal genetic variation of Plasmodium falciparum at the community-level in The Gambia |
| title_full | Household clustering and seasonal genetic variation of Plasmodium falciparum at the community-level in The Gambia |
| title_fullStr | Household clustering and seasonal genetic variation of Plasmodium falciparum at the community-level in The Gambia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Household clustering and seasonal genetic variation of Plasmodium falciparum at the community-level in The Gambia |
| title_short | Household clustering and seasonal genetic variation of Plasmodium falciparum at the community-level in The Gambia |
| title_sort | household clustering and seasonal genetic variation of plasmodium falciparum at the community level in the gambia |
| topic | Malaria genome epidemiology |
| url | https://elifesciences.org/articles/103047 |
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