Understanding Pf8

In 2025, MalariaGEN released Pf8 — the latest and largest instalment in an ongoing series of open datasets tracking the genetic makeup of Plasmodium falciparum, the parasite responsible for the most severe form of malaria. If you haven't already, our companion article, Understanding the Pf7 dataset, covers the basics of what these datasets are and why they matter; this article picks up the story with Pf8.

A bigger, deeper picture

Pf8 expands on its predecessor substantially: 33,325 samples, drawn from 99 partner studies across 34 countries, with some collection dates reaching back over 50 years. That's roughly 60% more samples than Pf7, and it folds in data from several earlier, smaller MalariaGEN projects — meaning researchers now have one unified, larger resource to work with, rather than several separate ones.

Alongside the raw sequencing data, Pf8 provides genotype calls at over 12 million positions in the parasite's genome — more than double what Pf7 offered. In practice, this means researchers can study genetic variation at a level of detail that simply wasn't possible with earlier releases.

New kinds of variation, newly tracked

Beyond scale, Pf8 introduces something new: for the first time, it includes copy-number variation data for two specific genes linked to drug resistance. Copy-number variation refers to cases where a section of genetic code is duplicated or deleted, rather than simply mutated — a different, and sometimes more dramatic, kind of genetic change. Tracking this alongside more familiar point mutations gives a fuller picture of the different ways the parasite can adapt.

Pf8 also continues something Pf7 introduced: tracking deletions in two particular genes associated with certain rapid diagnostic tests. When these genes are missing, some diagnostic tests can fail to detect an infection that's actually present — a real, practical concern for malaria control programmes that rely on rapid testing in the field.

Why this continuity matters

A single dataset, however large, is a snapshot. The real value of releases like Pf7 and Pf8 comes from the fact that they're part of an ongoing series — Pf8 builds on Pf7, which built on releases before it, stretching back over a decade. This continuity lets researchers track how the parasite's genetic makeup is changing over time, not just what it looks like today.

Like Pf7, Pf8 is freely available under a Creative Commons Attribution licence, continuing MalariaGEN's approach of open data as standard practice, rather than an afterthought.

Explore the data

You can explore the Pf8 sample data directly, including where and when samples were collected, on the Pf8 dataset page.