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Mechanisms propelling drug resistance If it were to spread, resistance to the drug artemisinin would seriously derail the recent gains of global malaria control programs (see the Perspective by Sibley). Mutations in a region called the K13-propeller are predictive for artemisinin resistance in Southeast Asia. Mok et al. looked at the patterns of gene expression in parasites isolated from more than 1000 patients sampled in Africa, Bangladesh, and the Mekong region. A range of mutations that alter protein repair pathways and the timing of the parasite's developmental cycle were only found in parasites from the Mekong region. Straimer et al. genetically engineered the K13 region of parasites obtained from recent clinical isolates. Mutations in this region were indeed responsible for the resistance phenotypes. Science , this issue p. 431 , p. 428 ; see also p. 373

Original publication

DOI

10.1126/science.1260403

Type

Journal article

Journal

Science

Publisher

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Publication Date

23/01/2015

Volume

347

Pages

431 - 435