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| ABSTRACT |
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| INTRODUCTION |
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Several studies have investigated P. falciparum population structure. Most have analyzed antigen-coding genes or drug resistanceassociated genes and such loci are under selective pressure.4,5 However, analyses are impaired by immunologic effects on selection6 or drug resistance, which reduces genetic diversity.7
Genetic analysis of P. falciparum populations with putative neutral microsatellites has been performed in Africa,811 where > 90% of malaria mortality occurs,3 and where the dynamic and genetics of P. falciparum populations remain unclear. Anderson and others have reported that low geographic genetic differentiation and high within-population genetic variability prevail in areas with a high degree of malaria transmission, with little linkage disequilibrium.8 Such linkage disequilibrium between loci, which suggests non-random genotype distribution, has been observed in Zimbabwe, Congo,10 and Senegal.9 Moreover, geographic genetic differentiation exists in Sudan between rural and urban sites.11 Such findings appear to be inconsistent and new data are necessary to assess the structure and diversity of P. falciparum in Africa.
Approximately 25% of the African population lives in cities, and the urbanization rate (26% per year) in developing countries remains high.12 Urbanization impedes malaria transmission and would increase the number of non-immune individuals in urban settings,13 with most being at risk of contracting potentially severe forms of the disease.12 Thus, the specificity of the urban epidemiology of malaria must be considered in developing control strategies.14
To assess these issues, we conducted a study of P. falciparum diversity and structure. Our objectives were to assess the genetic diversity, structure, and differentiation of P. falciparum populations according to geographic distances, accessibility, and level of malaria transmission in urban and rural sites. We report the results of genetic analysis and discuss parameters that could explain the observed patterns of diversity and geographic structure.
| MATERIALS AND METHODS |
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Plasmodium falciparum isolates. Blood samples were collected during the rainy season from P. falciparum-infected urban dwellers who came to health centers in Dakar (14°40'N, 17°26'E), Niamey (13°31'N, 2°06'E), and Djibouti (11°35'N, 43°08'E), as well as villagers in the rural area of Zouan-Hounien, Côte dIvoire (6°55'N, 8°09'E). Because of their lack of immunity, most of P. falciparum-infected urban dwellers were symptomatic.15,16 Approximately 500 µL of blood were collected from each volunteer after informed consent had been obtained. Samples were frozen and kept at 20°C. Ethical clearance was obtained from local ethics committees (Ministries of Health of Djibouti, Senegal, Côte dIvoire, and Niger).
Malaria in Dakar is hypo-endemic and transmission is seasonal, remaining less than one infected bite/person/year. The P. falciparum prevalence rate is less than 5% in the general population.13,16,17 Thirty-seven infected blood samples were obtained in September 2002. Malaria in Niamey is mainly hypo-endemic and transmission is estimated to be less than one infected bite/person/year in most of the city, but it may be higher on the Niger River banks. The P. falciparum prevalence rate in the general population is generally less than 5%, particularly during the dry season, but may reach 3050% during the rainy season at a few river banks sites.18 Forty-three infected blood samples were obtained in December 2001. Malaria in Djibouti is hypo-endemic with local transmission, mostly epidemic, less than one infected bite/person/ year.19 The P. falciparum prevalence rate in the general population is less than 5%.20,21 Forty-two infected blood samples were obtained in September and October 2001.22 Malaria in the rural area of Zouan-Hounien is holo-endemic, with high transmission (> 300 infected bites/person/year), and perennial. The P. falciparum prevalence rate exceeds 80%.23,24 One hundred eighteen infected blood samples were obtained in July 2001. Malaria endemicity at the four sample sites shows the following pattern: Djibouti < Dakar < Niamey << rural area of Zouan-Hounien.
Genotyping by polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
DNA was extracted from blood samples by using the ENZA blood DNA kit according to the manufacturers recommendations (Biofidal, Vaulx en Velin, France) and eluted in 100 µL of elution buffer per 250 µL of whole blood. DNA repeats (microsatellites) were amplified by PCR with fluorescent end-labeled primers from flanking sequences (Table 1
). The primers and PCR conditions are shown in Table 1
. All primers were synthesized and purified in the primers production laboratory at the Institute of Tropical Medicine (Marseille, France). The PCR products were subjected to electrophoresis on polyacrylamide gels with internal size standards (Tamra 500; Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA) using GENSCAN® software (Applied Biosystems).
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Multiplicity of infections. Infected blood samples may contain one or several haploidic clones of P. falciparum. In the case of multi-infection, more than one allele can be distinguished at each locus and it is generally impossible to consider the actual multilocus genotype of each clone, i.e., it is unfeasible to match the alleles of distinct loci. However, when several alleles were observed at only one locus and only one allele was observed at each other locus, it was possible to infer reconstruction of multilocus genotypes. For example, if the polymorphic locus exhibited (n) alleles, we scored (n) multilocus genotypes with identical alleles for mono-allelic loci and different alleles corresponding to variant alleles for the only one polymorphic locus. We refer to such data reconstructed multilocus genotypes. The multiplicity of infection, i.e., the number of distinct parasite populations in each isolate, was estimated from the locus that exhibited the highest number of alleles in that given isolate.
We conducted separate analysis considering either mono-infected isolates, i.e., with only one allele shown at a locus, or reconstructed multilocus genotypes from isolates that were multi-allelic at only one locus. The isolates with more than one allele at more than one locus were systematically removed from the analysis.
Measurement of genetic diversity. Genetic diversity was assessed by the number of alleles per locus (A) and Neis unbiased expected heterozygosity (He)27 from haploid data using FSTAT version 2.9.4.28 Differences between sites of the estimated He at each locus were tested by the Wilcoxon signed rank test using STATA 7 software (Stata Corporation, College Station, TX).
Population genetic structure. Population genetic structure was investigated using Wrights F-statistics.29 The index Fst measures the genetic differentiation between samples. This parameter was computed with FSTAT version 2.9.4.28,30
Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) was carried out to illustrate measures of population structure using CANOCO® software.31,32 Only isolates scored at each locus were considered for CCA. Analysis was performed with both mono-infected isolates and reconstructed multilocus genotype data. The significance of the canonical axes was tested with a Monte Carlo permutation test.32 This also allowed estimation of the 95% confidence intervals of the centroid of each population.
Linkage disequilibrium. Deviations from the hypothesis of random association of alleles at distinct loci was tested by permutation procedure using FSTAT version 2.9.4.28 for each parasite population. We conducted separate analysis of mono-infected isolates and reconstructed multilocus genotypes data. In the case of significant linkage disequilibrium, analyses were performed once again after removing repeated multilocus genotypes from the data set. Associations between all pairs of loci were also estimated by a R2 coefficient akin to a squared coefficient of correlation29 and was computed using FSTAT. The sequential Bonferroni procedure was applied to consider the multiple testing enhanced type I error.33,34
| RESULTS |
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Genetic diversity.
The number of distinct alleles observed per locus, the unbiased expected heterozygosity (He) estimated per locus and with each panel of loci, are shown in Table 3
. The mean He estimated with loci in panel A differed significantly between Djibouti and Niamey (P < 0.025) and between Djibouti and Zouan-Hounien (P < 0.005). It was similar in Dakar, Niamey, and the rural area of Zouan-Hounien. The mean He did not differ according to the panel of loci used in each site.
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Using the genotypes of the mono-infected isolates at the 16 loci of panel B and the 6 loci of panel C, we showed that the Djibouti P. falciparum population had 9 (58 with reconstructed data) and 0 (1 with reconstructed data) associated pairs of loci (P < 0.0009), among 120 and 15 possible pairs, respectively. These associations between loci do not remain significant when we counted only the repeated genotype once to perform linkage disequilibrium analysis. The P. falciparum populations of Dakar, Niamey, and the rural area of Zouan-Hounien did not exhibit linkage disequilibrium.
| DISCUSSION |
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In Djibouti, the genetic diversity of P. falciparum populations was low. The expected heterozygosity was similar to that observed in Asia (Shoklo, Thailand; He = 0.51) and higher than that observed in South America (Colombia, Bolivia and Brazil; He range = 0.300.40).8 This could result from isolation and low levels of transmission. Allele fixation due to genetic drift limits genetic diversity. The low P. falciparum prevalence rate reported in Djibouti and the rest of the country suggests that the parasite population is small and drift may have a greater effect because the parasite population size is smaller. Low levels of malaria transmission near Djibouti may also limit acquiring genetic diversity from surrounding areas.
Genetic diversity of P. falciparum populations sampled in the cities did not depend solely on the low level of transmission in urban conditions. Because African cities are communication nodes and drain human populations from surrounding areas, genetic diversity observed in the cities could reflect genetic diversity of P. falciparum populations of surrounding areas. Malaria transmission and endemicity are higher in the savannah around Dakar and Niamey than in the sub-desert area of Djibouti, whereas malaria transmission, endemicity, and complexity of infections are similar in these three cities. Thus, flow of parasite populations between urban and rural areas might be important and explain the differences in genetic diversity observed between Dakar and Niamey, and Djibouti. This implies that the easy access to anti-malarial drugs in the cities and the resulting drug pressure could have an impact on the selection of drug resistance not only in the urban areas but also in the surrounding rural areas. Conversely, the flow of parasite populations from the rural to the urban areas could dilute drug-resistance traits.
The Fst coefficients show evidence of population structure among studied samples spread throughout Africa. Estimated Fsts ranged from 0.109 to 0.243 between Djibouti and the other sites. The Fst was 0.122 between the closest sites geographically, i.e., Niamey and the rural area of Zouan-Hounien. These Fsts were stronger than the estimation reported by Anderson and others8 in Africa (Fst < 0.01). African P. falciparum populations are structured, and at a continental scale these populations are obviously isolated among geographic areas, i.e., they are not panmictic. The slight geographic genetic differentiation between Dakar and Niamey may be related to the road network that covers west Africa at this latitude from Senegal to Niger and permits the easy exchange of people and goods. There was not such interconnection between the other pairs of sites. Moreover, the Fst estimated between Zouan-Hounien and the urban sites (range = 0.1070.243) suggested substantial geographic isolation of this landlocked rural area. Our results imply that genetic flow between sites is not sufficient to homogenize parasite populations. Selection of drug-resistant P. falciparum populations could then act mainly at the local level and the spread of drug resistances in neighboring areas could depend on their isolation. It explains why the P. falciparum chloroquine resistance took 12 years to cross Africa from east to west.35
Djibouti was the only site that showed linkage disequilibrium, which is consistent with the population structure described earlier in this report. Whatever its origin, linkage disequilibrium will remain longer in an isolated population such as seen in Djibouti. Several non-exclusive hypotheses such as selfing or the Wallhund effect can explain such linkage disequilibrium. An epidemic may lead to a high proportion of a few major multilocus genotypes in remote parasite populations, such as in Djibouti.19 Moreover, we observed a low number of different multilocus genotypes within blood sample from Djibouti. Therefore, we can expect a high proportion of mating between similar strains (during the sexual phase within the vector) and a limited effect of genetic recombination. If we consider several malaria foci in Djibouti and an epidemic that occurs within one of them, this leads to local selfing that could mime clonal expansion. This would be consistent with the disappearance of linkage disequilibrium after removing the repeated genotype.19 Although we cannot reject statistical type II error when repeated genotypes are removed, a local epidemic may explain most of the linkage disequilibrium36 observed in this city. It can be hypothesized that malaria transmission in Djibouti occurs usually in the form of localized micro-epidemics, possibly related to the introduction of new P. falciparum populations or to a brief increase in vector densities around focused vector breeding sites.19 We did not reproduce the linkage disequilibrium observed in Dakar in a previous study,9 possibly because of differences in sampling.
Our results showed fairly structured P. falciparum populations at the scale of the African continent that could be related to geographic isolation and insufficient flow of parasites between sites. Furthermore, we pointed out the potential effect of rural suburbs in generating genetic diversity in towns where malaria transmission is usually low.13 If one considers urban malaria as malaria of tomorrow, control strategies in towns should take into consideration the malaria situation in rural surroundings and parasite flow between rural and urban areas, which could affect genetic diversity and dispersal of selected drug resistance.
Received August 16, 2005. Accepted for publication November 6, 2005.
Acknowledgments: We thank Professor A. Buguet, V. Buguet, Professor J. Lebras, Dr. F. Ariey, and Dr. R. Prescott for helpful comments on the manuscript. We also thank the people of studied sites for their cooperation during the survey. We are also grateful to the team nurses, health workers, and microscopists who made this study possible.
Financial support. This study was undertaken within the framework of the PAL+ program (DYNAPOP) supported by the French Ministry of Research (PAL+). It is also supported by the Impact Malaria Program of Sanofi-Synthélabo, the Délégation Générale pour lArmement (PEA 010808), and the Société de Pathologie Exotique (research grant 2003). Patrick Durand and François Renaud are supported by the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement.
Disclosure: None of the authors has commercial or other associations that might pose a conflict of interest.
* Address correspondence to Hervé Bogreau or Christophe Rogier, Institut de Médecine Tropicale du Service de Santé des Armées, Unité de Recherche en Biologie et Epidémiologie Parasitaire, Boulevard Charles Livon, Parc du Pharo, Marseille, France. E-mails: hervebogreau{at}yahoo.fr or christophe.rogier{at}wanadoo.fr ![]()
Authors addresses: Hervé Bogreau, Housem Bouchiba, Bruno Pradines, Thierry Fusai, and Christophe Rogier, Institut de Médecine Tropicale du Service de Santé des Armées, Unité de Recherche en Biologie et Epidémiologie Parasitaire, Boulevard Charles Livon, Parc du Pharo, Marseille, France, Telephone: 33-6-85-94-12-30 or 33-4-91-15-01-50, Fax: 33-4-91-15-01-64, E-mails: hervebogreau{at}yahoo.fr, housem_b{at}hotmail.com, bruno.pradines{at}free.fr, thierry.fusai{at}free.fr, and christophe.rogier{at}wanadoo.fr. François Renaud and Patrick Durand, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Génétique des Maladies Infectieuses, Unité Mixte de Recherche 2724, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 911 Avenue Agropolis, BP 64501, 34394 Montpellier CEDEX 5, France, E-mails: renaud{at}mpl.ird.fr and durand{at}mpl.ird.fr. Serge-Brice Assi, Institut Pierre Richet, Bouaké, Côte dIvoire, E-mail: assisergi{at}yahoo.fr. Marie-Claire Henry, Centre Muraz, 01 BP390, Bobo-Dioulasso 01, Burkina-Faso, E-mail: depauw.henry{at}fasonet.bf. Eric Garnotel, Hôpital dInstruction des Armées Alphonse Laveran, Service de Biologie Médicale, 13013 Marseille, France, E-mail: eganotel{at}mageos.com. Boubacar Wade, Hôpital Principal de Dakar, 1 Avenue Nelson Mandela, BP3006, Dakar, Senegal, E-mail: bwade55{at}yahoo.com. Eric Adehossi, Département de Médecine Interne B3, BP238, Hôpital National de Niamey, Niamey, Niger, E-mail: eadehossi{at}yahoo.fr. Philippe Parola, Laboratoire de Parasitologie et Mycologie, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Unite 399, Institut Fédératif 48, Faculté de Médecine, Marseille, France, E-mail: philippe.parola{at}medecine.univ-mrs.fr. Mohammed Ali Kamil, Direction et Laboratoire dEpidémiologie et dHygiène Publique, Djibouti Ville, République de Djibouti, E-mail: drmakamil{at}intnet.dj. Odile Puijalon, Institut Pasteur Immunologie Moléculaire des Parasites, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité de Recherche Associée, 2581, 75015 Paris, France, E-mail: omp{at}pasteur.fr.
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