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PMID: 19151330 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

Patterns of gene-specific and total transcriptional activity during the Plasmodium falciparum intraerythrocytic developmental cycle.

Eukaryotic cell ·Vol. 8 ·No. 3 ·2009-03-00 ·Pages 327-38

Sims JS, Militello KT, Sims PA, Patel VP, Kasper JM, Wirth DF

Abstract

The relationships among gene regulatory mechanisms in the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum throughout its asexual intraerythrocytic developmental cycle (IDC) remain poorly understood. To investigate the level and nature of transcriptional activity and its role in controlling gene expression during the IDC, we performed nuclear run-on on whole-transcriptome samples from time points throughout the IDC and found a peak in RNA polymerase II-dependent transcriptional activity related to both the number of nuclei per parasite and variable transcriptional activity per nucleus over time. These differential total transcriptional activity levels allowed the calculation of the absolute transcriptional activities of individual genes from gene-specific nuclear run-on hybridization data. For half of the genes analyzed, sense-strand transcriptional activity peaked at the same time point as total activity. The antisense strands of several genes were substantially transcribed. Comparison of the transcriptional activity of the sense strand of each gene to its steady-state RNA abundance across the time points assayed revealed both correlations and discrepancies, implying transcriptional and posttranscriptional regulation, respectively. Our results demonstrate that such comparisons can effectively indicate gene regulatory mechanisms in P. falciparum and suggest that genes with diverse transcriptional activity levels and patterns combine to produce total transcriptional activity levels tied to parasite development during the IDC.

MeSH Terms
Animals Erythrocytes/parasitology Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental Humans Malaria, Falciparum/parasitology Plasmodium falciparum/genetics,growth & development,metabolism Protozoan Proteins/genetics,metabolism Transcription, Genetic
Chemicals
Protozoan Proteins
Authors & Affiliations
6 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Sims Jennifer S
Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
Militello Kevin T
Sims Peter A
Patel Vishal P
Kasper Jacob M
Wirth Dyann F
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Article Info
Journal
Eukaryotic cell
Abbr.
Eukaryot Cell
ISSN
1535-9786
DOI
10.1128/EC.00340-08
Published
2009-03-00
Epub
2009-00-16
Pages
327-38
Language
English
Region
United States
NLM ID
101130731
PMCID
PMC2653245
Subset
IM
Grants
NIAID NIH HHS · F32 AI050303 · United States
NIGMS NIH HHS · R01 GM061351 · United States
NIGMS NIH HHS · GM61351-03 · United States
NIAID NIH HHS · AI050303-01 · United States
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1128/EC.00340-08 PMC Full Text
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