Clinical isolates of Plasmodium, the parasite responsible for the deadliest form of human malaria, often comprise multiple parasite lineages. The presence of multiple lineages within a single malaria isolate may interfere with its authentication, including drug susceptibility testing and sequencing undertaken to ascertain its genetic identity.¹

As part of BEI Resources’ Enhanced Authentication Initiative, single parasite lineages were cloned from three isolates confirmed to harbor multiple parasite lineages.¹ These isolated lineages display unique, well-defined drug susceptibility profiles and genotypes at major drug resistance loci, making them an extremely valuable resource as potential controls for the screening of candidate antimalarials and for drug resistance research.

To learn more about the characterization of drug-resistant malaria reference isolates in the BEI Resources catalog, please contact Customer Care at Contact@BEIResources.org. Information will also be available from the Malaria Research and Reference Reagent Resource Center (MR4) poster presentation at the Molecular Parasitology meeting in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, on September 18-22, 2022.²

References:

1. Nkhoma, S. C., et al. “Dissection of Haplotype-Specific Drug Response Phenotypes in Multiclonal Malaria Isolates.” Int. J. Parasitol. Drugs Drug Resist. 15 (2021): 152-161. PubMed: 33780700.
2. Ahmed, A. O. A., et al. “In vitro Antimalarial Susceptibility Profiles of Malaria Isolates in the BEI Resources Catalog." Molecular Parasitology Meeting XXXIII. September 18-20, 2022. Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

Image: Light microscopic image of Giemsa-stained human red blood cells infected with MRA-1316. (BEI Resources)