Transcriptional variation in malaria parasites: why and how
TLDR
How epigenetic variation, directed transcriptional responses and also genetic changes that affect transcript levels can all contribute to transcriptional variation and, ultimately, parasite survival are discussed.Abstract:
Transcriptional differences enable the generation of alternative phenotypes from the same genome. In malaria parasites, transcriptional plasticity plays a major role in the process of adaptation to fluctuations in the environment. Multiple studies with culture-adapted parasites and field isolates are starting to unravel the different transcriptional alternatives available to Plasmodium falciparum and the underlying molecular mechanisms. Here we discuss how epigenetic variation, directed transcriptional responses and also genetic changes that affect transcript levels can all contribute to transcriptional variation and, ultimately, parasite survival. Some transcriptional changes are driven by stochastic events. These changes can occur spontaneously, resulting in heterogeneity within parasite populations that provides the grounds for adaptation by dynamic natural selection. However, transcriptional changes can also occur in response to external cues. A better understanding of the mechanisms that the parasite has evolved to alter its transcriptome may ultimately contribute to the design of strategies to combat malaria to which the parasite cannot adapt.read more
Citations
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Chromatin Replication and Epigenome Maintenance
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A heat-shock response regulated by the PfAP2-HS transcription factor protects human malaria parasites from febrile temperatures.
Elisabet Tintó-Font,Lucas Michel-Todó,Timothy J. Russell,Núria Casas-Vila,David J. Conway,Zbynek Bozdech,Manuel Llinás,Alfred Cortés +7 more
TL;DR: In this article, the authors showed that PfAP2-HS, a transcription factor in the ApiAP2 family, regulates the protective heat-shock response in Plasmodium falciparum.
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Direct nanopore sequencing of mRNA reveals landscape of transcript isoforms in apicomplexan parasites
V. Vern Lee,V. Vern Lee,Louise M. Judd,Aaron R. Jex,Aaron R. Jex,Kathryn E. Holt,Kathryn E. Holt,Christopher J. Tonkin,Christopher J. Tonkin,Stuart A. Ralph +9 more
TL;DR: This work utilised the long read direct RNA sequencing platform developed by Oxford Nanopore Technologies to survey the alternative splicing landscape of Toxoplasma gondii and Plasmodium falciparum, and finds that while native RNA sequencing has a reduced throughput, it allows for full-length or near full- length transcripts with comparable quantification to Illumina sequencing.
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The ApiAP2 factor PfAP2-HC is an integral component of heterochromatin in the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum
Eilidh Carrington,Eilidh Carrington,Roel H. M. Cooijmans,Dominique Keller,Dominique Keller,Christa Geeke Toenhake,Richárd Bártfai,Till S. Voss,Till S. Voss +8 more
TL;DR: In this article, an ApiAP2-HC was found to be a core component of heterochromatin in malaria parasites and identified unexpected properties and substantial functional divergence among the members of the Api-AP2 family of regulatory proteins.
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Expression Patterns of Plasmodium falciparum Clonally Variant Genes at the Onset of a Blood Infection in Malaria-Naive Humans.
Anastasia K. Pickford,Lucas Michel-Todó,Florian Dupuy,Alfredo Mayor,Pedro L. Alonso,Catherine Lavazec,Alfred Cortés +6 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors provided a detailed characterization of the complete P. falciparum transcriptome across the full intraerythrocytic development cycle (IDC) at the onset of a blood infection in malaria-naive human volunteers.
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