Back to Search
Start Over
Global transcriptional repression: An initial and essential step for Plasmodium sexual development.
- Source :
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America; 10/13/2015, Vol. 112 Issue 41, p12824-12829, 6p
- Publication Year :
- 2015
-
Abstract
- Gametocytes are nonreplicative sexual forms that mediate malaria transmission to a mosquito vector. They are generated from asexual blood-stage parasites that proliferate in the circulation. However, little is known about how this transition is genetically regulated. Here, we report that an Apetala2 (AP2) family transcription factor, AP2-G2, regulates this transition as a transcriptional repressor. Disruption of AP2-G2 in the rodent malaria parasite Plasmodium berghei did not prevent commitment to the sexual stage but did halt development before the appearance of sex-specific morphologies. ChIP-seq analysis revealed that AP2-G2 targeted ~1,500 genes and recognized a five-base motif in their promoters. Most of these target genes are required for asexual proliferation of the parasites in the blood, suggesting that AP2-G2 blocks the program that precedes asexual replication to promote conversion to the sexual stage. Microarray analysis showed that the identified targets constituted ~70% of the up-regulated genes in AP2-G2-depleted parasites, suggesting that AP2-G2 actually functions as a repressor in gametocytes. A promoter assay using a centromere plasmid demonstrated that the binding motif functions as a cis-acting negative regulatory element. These results suggest that global transcriptional repression, which occurs during the initial phase of gametocytogenesis, is an essential step in Plasmodium sexual development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- PLASMODIUM
GERM cells
MOSQUITO vectors
MALARIA transmission
TRANSCRIPTION factors
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 00278424
- Volume :
- 112
- Issue :
- 41
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 110374020
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1504389112