{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,15]],"date-time":"2026-09-15T13:55:37Z","timestamp":1789480537380,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":30,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,8,1]],"date-time":"2023-08-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1690848000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Mol. Biosci."],"abstract":"<jats:p>The human malaria parasite <jats:italic>Plasmodium falciparum<\/jats:italic> maintains the chronicity of infections through antigenic variation, a well-coordinated immune evasion mechanism. The most prominent molecular determinant of antigenic variation in this parasite includes the members of the <jats:italic>var<\/jats:italic> multigene family. Homologous recombination (HR)-mediated genomic rearrangements have been implicated to play a major role in <jats:italic>var<\/jats:italic> gene diversification. However, the key molecular factors involved in the generation of diversity at <jats:italic>var<\/jats:italic> loci are less known. Here, we tested the hypothesis that PfRad51 could carry out recombination between <jats:italic>var<\/jats:italic> genes that are not homologous but homeologous in nature. We employed the whole-genome sequencing (WGS) approach to investigate recombination events among <jats:italic>var<\/jats:italic> sequences over 100 generations and compared the rate of sequence rearrangement at the <jats:italic>var<\/jats:italic> loci in both PfRad51-proficient and -deficient parasite lines. This brief report provides evidence that the loss of the key recombinase function renders the parasite with inefficient HR and results in fewer recombination events among the <jats:italic>var<\/jats:italic> sequences, thereby impacting the diversification of the <jats:italic>var<\/jats:italic> gene repertoire.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fmolb.2023.1223682","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,8,1]],"date-time":"2023-08-01T09:42:18Z","timestamp":1690882938000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Uncovering the role of Rad51 in homologous recombination-mediated antigenic diversification in the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"10","author":[{"given":"Pratap","family":"Vydyam","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nabamita","family":"Roy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mrinal Kanti","family":"Bhattacharyya","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,8,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"77","DOI":"10.1016\/0092-8674(95)90054-3","article-title":"Cloning the P. falciparum gene encoding PfEMP1, a malarial variant antigen and adherence receptor on the surface of parasitized human erythrocytes","volume":"82","author":"Baruch","year":"1995","journal-title":"Cell."},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"33","DOI":"10.1016\/j.molbiopara.2004.09.007","article-title":"Characterization of kinetics of DNA strand-exchange and ATP hydrolysis activities of recombinant PfRad51, a Plasmodium falciparum recombinase","volume":"139","author":"Bhattacharyya","year":"2005","journal-title":"Mol. 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