Table 1. Signatures in DBL5ε domain of VAR2CSA expressed by placental parasites.

Category	Parity	VAR2CSA DBL5ε motifs
		VFNNA	Gap	TFKNI	EDTKQ	EYTGN	QYTGN
Samples	Primigravidae (n = 16)	6	12a	1	7a	6a	0
	Multigravidae (n = 24)	7	9	11a	2	2	5
Sequences	Primigravidae (n = 33)	11	20a	1	7a	8a	0
	Multigravidae (n = 37)	11	14	12	2	2	5a

Gap, EDTKQ and EYTGN motifs are mainly found in samples from primigravidae compared to those from multigravidae (p = 0.02) whereas TFKNI and QYTGN are mostly or exclusively found in multigravidae (p = 0.013). At the level of sequence types obtained from each sample, the EDTKQ, EYTGN and gap signatures are more frequent among DBL5ε sequences from primigravidae compared to those originating from multigravidae (p = 0.036). Similarly, the TFKNI and QYTGN motifs are mostly or exclusively found in sequences from multigravidae (p = 0.0019 and p = 0.038 respectively).

^ap<.05, Fisher's exact test.

^bp<.001, Fisher's exact test.