Genetic diversity in Plasmodium falciparum merozoite surface protein 1 and 2 coding genes and its implications in malaria epidemiology: a review of published studies from 1997-2007.

A major characteristic of human malaria parasites is their genetic diversity and an increasing number of studies have been reported on the epidemiology of Plasmodium falciparum, mainly focusing on the polymorphism of merozoite surface protein (MSP) 1 and 2 genes. A myriad of information on the genetic diversity and multiplicity of P. falciparum infections has been generated from such studies, and a range of molecular tools for epidemiological...