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. 1993 Oct;61(10):4469–4472. doi: 10.1128/iai.61.10.4469-4472.1993

The RESA-2 gene of Plasmodium falciparum is transcribed in several independent isolates.

G Vazeux 1, C Le Scanf 1, T Fandeur 1
PMCID: PMC281181  PMID: 8406838

Abstract

The relevance of the ring-infected erythrocyte surface antigen (RESA) of Plasmodium falciparum as a malaria vaccine candidate has been questioned of late because RESA-deficient parasites have been found to multiply normally in culture or in monkeys. The RESA-2 gene was recently described as a pseudogene highly homologous to RESA. In this report, we demonstrate that RESA-2 is not a pseudogene, because we were able to detect RESA-2 transcripts in asexual blood stages of multiple isolates by using polymerase chain reaction on reverse-transcribed mRNA. Transcription of RESA-2 was observed whether or not the isolates studied expressed the RESA protein.

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Selected References

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