Analysis of sequences from the extremely A + T-rich genome of Plasmodium falciparum.

The genome of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum has an A + T content of about 82%, higher than any other organism whose DNA has been characterized. Computer analysis of 36 kb of available nucleotide sequences from this species showed that the coding regions, with an A + T content of 69.0%, are flanked by more A + T-rich regions of 86.0% A + T. Within the coding sequences, the A/T ratio was 1.68 in the mRNA sense strand, and overall A + T content in the three codon positions increased in the order 1st-2nd-3rd position. Codons with T or especially A in the third position were strongly preferred. Codon usage among individual parasite genes was very similar compared to genes from other species. Dinucleotide frequencies for the parasite DNA were close to those expected for a random sequence with the known base composition, except that the CpG frequency in the coding sequences was low.