Geographic subdivision of the range of the malaria parasite Plasmodium vivax

We examined geographically distinct isolates of Plasmodium vivax and catego rized them according to developmental success in Anopheles albimanus. We fo und that parasites from Central America and Colombia form a group distinct from those of Asia. New World isolates have a distinct chromosomal transloc ation and an episomal variation in the open reading frame (ORF) 470 DNA seq uence that distinguishes them from the other isolates tested. Old World typ es of P. vivax were introduced into the Americas, and a remnant of this lin eage remains in P. simium. it is indistinguishable from Old World P. vivax to the extent determinable by using our encoded markers and the examination of its developmental pattern in mosquitoes. The cohesive characteristics t hat separate types of P. vivax are predictors of range and potential for tr ansmission and hence require taxonomic distinction.