Nucleic Acids Research, Vol 25, Issue 2 438-446, Copyright © 1997 by Oxford University Press
JE Feagin, BL Mericle, E Werner and M Morris
Sequences similar to mitochondrial large and small subunit rRNAs are found
as small scattered fragments on a tandemly reiterated 6 kb element in the
human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. The rDNA sequences previously
identified include strongly conserved portions of rRNA, suggesting that
fragmented rRNAs derived from them are able to associate into functional
ribosomes. However, sequences corresponding to other expected rRNA regions
were not found. We here report that 10 of the 13 previously described rDNA
regions have abundant small transcripts. An additional 10 transcripts were
found from regions not previously known to contain genes. Five of the
latter have been identified as rRNA fragments, including those
corresponding to the 5'end and 790 loop sequences of small subunit rRNA and
the sarcin/ ricin loop of large subunit rRNA. Demonstration that most of
the previously described rDNA regions have abundant transcripts and the
identification of new transcripts with other portions of conventional rRNAs
provide support for the hypothesis that these small transcripts comprise
functional rRNAs.
ARTICLES
Identification of additional rRNA fragments encoded by the Plasmodium falciparum 6 kb element
Seattle Biomedical Research Institute, 4 Nickerson Street, Seattle, WA 98109-1651, USA. feagin@u.washington.edu
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