The malaria parasite Plasmodium vivax exhibits greater genetic diversity than Plasmodium falciparum

We sequenced and annotated the genomes of four Plasmodium vivax strains collected from disparate geographical locations, tripling the number of genome sequences available for this understudied parasite and providing the first genome-wide perspective of global variability within this species. We observe approximately twice as much SNP diversity among these isolates as we do among a comparable collection of isolates of Plasmodium falciparum, a malaria parasite that causes higher mortality. This indicates a distinct history of global colonization and/or a more stable demographic history for P. vivax than P. falciparum, which is thought to have undergone a recent population bottleneck. The SNP diversity, as well as additional microsatellite and gene family variability, suggests the capacity for greater functional variation within the global population of P. vivax. These findings warrant a deeper survey of variation in P. vivax to equip disease interventions targeting the distinctive biology of this neglected but major pathogen.