Transfection technology and the study of drug resistance in the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum

Numerous approaches have been employed to identify the molecules responsible for drug resistance in the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. However, it was not until the recent development of stable transfection in this parasite that it became possible to prove the role of particular genes in drug resistance and, perhaps more importantly, to characterise the nature of the specific mutations that contribute the resistance phenotype. In this review, the contribution of various molecular genetic approaches to the dissection of drug resistance in P falciparum is described. Future possibilities in this field are also outlined in the light of recent technological advances. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.