Sequence and structure of a Plasmodium falciparum telomere.

We have isolated a 3 kb cloned DNA fragment which originated from a telomere of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. The complete nucleotide sequence of the clone is presented. The clone is composed of several distinct structural regions which vary in their sequence complexity. Using oligonucleotide probes for the different structural regions, we analyzed the genetic conservation of sequence organization near telomeres in various strains of P. falciparum. Our results suggest that rapid sequence variability is generated in the vicinity of chromosome ends.