ABSTRACT
Objective To analyze the efficiency and specificity of MSP2 alleles genotyping for Plasmodium falci-parum isolates by Nest-PCR and PCR-RFLP. Methods MSP2 alleles from Plasmodium falciparum isolates of Yunnan and Hainan were genotyped by Nest-PCR and PCR-RFLP, respectively, and the efficiency and specificity of the two me-thods were analyzed. Results The conventional Nest-PCR method could detect 79.8% (166/208) alleles of MSP2,and 65.7% (65/99) for 3D7 family, but could not identify the type of any allele. While PCR-RFLP showed 25.3% higher genotyping efficiency than Nest-PCR. Moreover, this method could identify the allele types. Conclusion PCR-RFLP genotyping technique is more efficient and specific than conventional Nest-PCR, and it is a convenient tool in the study on molecular epidemiology of malaria.