Sequence diversity of the erythrocyte membrane antigen 1 in various strains of Plasmodium chabaudi.

We have determined the complete genomic sequence of the Plasmodium chabaudi erythrocyte membrane antigen (PcEMA1) in 4 different parasite strains. The gene structure consisted of a short region encoding a signal sequence separated from the main coding region by an intervening sequence. The overall identity of the three P. chabaudi adami deduced protein sequences to their consensus was 100%, 99.8% and 88% for 556KA, DK and DS respectively, with a general pattern of increasing divergence from the N- to the C-terminus. The P. chabaudi chabaudi strain CB was 72% homologous to the P. chabaudi adami consensus sequence. A gene related to PcEMA1, designated PcEMA1-R, has been identified in the genome of P. chabaudi adami but not in P. chabaudi chabaudi. The partial sequence for this gene in P. chabaudi adami strain DS predicts that it could encode a truncated form of PcEMA1, but its status as a pseudogene or an independent, expressed gene has not been resolved.