DNA Repair Studies in Plasmodium Falciparum

Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease caused by a eukaryotic protist of the genus Plasmodium.It is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, including parts of the Americas(22 countries), Asia, and Africa. There are approximately 350-500 million cases of malaria, killing between one and three million people, the majority of whom are young children in sub-Saharan Africa.Five species of the plasmodium parasite can infect humans; Plasmodium falciparum. Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium ovale, Plasmodium malariae, Plasmodium knowlesi. The most serious forms of the disease are caused by Plasmodium falciparum.DNA has always been the most important biomolecule in an organism, and the maitenance of its integrity is one of the vital process in cellular organisms. Any disruption in this DNA repair mchanism can lead to the death of the that organism. This book here unravels some of the vital information of DNA repair mechanism present in P.falciparum which would help in discovering effective new drug targets against this organism.