Nucleic Acids Research Advance Access originally published online on September 18, 2007
Nucleic Acids Research 2007 35(19):6367-6377; doi:10.1093/nar/gkm693
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Nucleic Acids Research, 2007, Vol. 35, No. 19 6367-6377
© 2007 The Author(s)
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/uk/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Molecular Biology |
Telomeric co-localization of the modified base J and contingency genes in the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
*To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +1 706 542 9806; Fax: +1 508 457 4727; Email: rsabatini{at}bmb.uga.edu
Received April 18, 2007. Revised August 14, 2007. Accepted August 22, 2007.
Base J or ß-D-glucosylhydroxymethyluracil is a modification of thymine residues within the genome of kinetoplastid parasites. In organisms known to contain the modified base, J is located mainly within the telomeric repeats. However, in Trypanosoma brucei, a small fraction of J is also located within the silent subtelomeric variant surface glycoprotein (VSG) gene expression sites, but not in the active expression site, suggesting a role for J in regulating telomeric genes involved in pathogenesis. With the identification of surface glycoprotein genes adjacent to telomeres in the South American Trypanosome, Trypanosoma cruzi, we became interested in the telomeric distribution of base J. Analysis of J and telomeric repeat sequences by J immunoblots and Southern blots following DNA digestion, reveals
25% of J outside the telomeric repeat sequences. Moreover, the analysis of DNA sequences immunoprecipitated with J antiserum, localized J within subtelomeric regions rich in life-stage-specific surface glycoprotein genes involved in pathogenesis. Interestingly, the pattern of J within these regions is developmentally regulated. These studies provide a framework to characterize the role of base J in the regulation of telomeric gene expression/diversity in T. cruzi.
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