Evidence that Plasmodium falciparum chromosome end clusters are cross-linked by protein and are the sites of both virulence gene silencing and activation
Author
Marty, AJ; Thompson, JK; Duffy, MF; Voss, TS; Cowman, AF; Crabb, BSDate
2006-10-01Source Title
MOLECULAR MICROBIOLOGYPublisher
WILEYAffiliation
Medicine - Royal Melbourne And Western HospitalsMetadata
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Journal ArticleCitations
Marty, A. J., Thompson, J. K., Duffy, M. F., Voss, T. S., Cowman, A. F. & Crabb, B. S. (2006). Evidence that Plasmodium falciparum chromosome end clusters are cross-linked by protein and are the sites of both virulence gene silencing and activation. MOLECULAR MICROBIOLOGY, 62 (1), pp.72-83. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2958.2006.05364.x.Access Status
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C1 - Journal Articles Refereed
Abstract
The malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum undergoes antigenic variation through allelic exclusion and variant expression of surface proteins encoded by the var gene family. Regulation of var genes is under epigenetic control and involves reversible silencing and activation that requires the physical repositioning of a var locus into a transcriptionally permissive zone of the nuclear periphery. P. falciparum chromosome ends appear to aggregate into large perinuclear clusters which house both subtelomeric and chromosome central var genes. In this study we further define the composition of telomeric clusters using fluorescent in situ hybridization, and provide evidence that chromosome end clusters are formed by cross-linking protein. In addition, we demonstrate that a subtelomeric reporter gene and a var gene remain within clusters regardless of their transcriptional status. Our findings support a model whereby a highly localized structure dedicated to the activation of a single var gene can be housed within a gene dense chromosome end cluster that is otherwise transcriptionally silent.
Keywords
Medical Parasitology ; Infectious Diseases; Infectious DiseasesExport Reference in RIS Format
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