New Insights into the Genetic Regulation of Plasmodium Falciparum Obtained by Bayesian Modeling

The most fatal and prevalent form of malaria is caused by the bloodborne pathogen Plasmodium falciparum (henceforth P.f). Annually, approximately three million people died of malaria. Despite P.f devastivating effect globally, the vast majority of its proteins have not been characterized experimentally. In this work, we provide computational insight that explore the modalities of the regulation for some important group of genes of P.f, namely components of the glycolytic pathway, and those involved in apicoplast metabolism. Glycolysis is a crucial pathway in the maintenance of the parasite while the recently discovered apicoplast contains a range of metabolic pathways and housekeeping processes that differ radically to those of the host, which makes it ideal for drug therapy. We have been able to validate some of our findings from available literature and therefore provide a basis to give theoretical insight for some genes regulations, which has not been characterized experimentally.