# Malaria-GENOMAP: a web-based tool for exploring genomic variation of malaria parasites

## TL;DR

Malaria-GENOMAP is a web tool that helps researchers explore genomic data from various malaria parasites to better understand their biology and drug resistance.

## Contribution

The novel contribution is a web-based platform integrating genomic and geographic data for multiple Plasmodium species.

## Key findings

- Malaria-GENOMAP integrates genomic variant data from six Plasmodium species.
- The tool enables exploration of population structure and drug resistance markers.
- It supports geographic and gene-level analysis of mutations.

## Abstract

Malaria, caused by Plasmodium parasites, imposes a significant public health burden. While Plasmodium falciparum remains the primary target of elimination strategies due to its high mortality rate, lesser-known species such as P. malariae, P. vivax, and P. knowlesi continue to contribute to substantial human morbidity. Genomic approaches, including whole-genome sequencing, offer powerful tools for understanding the biology, transmission, and emerging drug resistance of these neglected Plasmodium species. However, there is an urgent need for informatic tools to summarize and visualize the high-dimensional and complex genomic data generated.

We developed Malaria-GENOMAP, a user-friendly web-based tool, which integrates genomic variant data, such as allele frequencies, with geographical maps and chromosome-wide to gene views for in-depth exploration. The tool includes variation from P. knowlesi (n = 139), P. malariae (n = 158), P. ovale curtisi (n = 36), P. ovale wallikeri (n = 47), P. simium (n = 38), and P. vivax (n = 1359). It enables the investigation of population structure, geographic associations of mutations, and putative drug resistance markers, offering valuable insights for malaria control efforts.

Malaria-GENOMAP is available online at https://genomics.lshtm.ac.uk/malaria-genomaps.