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. 1996 Apr 1;24(7):1202–1211. doi: 10.1093/nar/24.7.1202

The PARP promoter of Trypanosoma brucei is developmentally regulated in a chromosomal context.

S Biebinger 1, S Rettenmaier 1, J Flaspohler 1, C Hartmann 1, J Peña-Diaz 1, L E Wirtz 1, H R Hotz 1, J D Barry 1, C Clayton 1
PMCID: PMC145797  PMID: 8614620

Abstract

African trypanosomes are extracellular protozoan parasites that are transmitted from one mammalian host to the next by tsetse flies. Bloodstream forms express variant surface glycoprotein (VSG); the tsetse fly (procyclic) forms express instead the procyclic acidic repetitive protein (PARP). PARP mRNA is abundant in procyclic forms and almost undetectable in blood-stream forms. Post-transcriptional mechanisms are mainly responsible for PARP mRNA regulation but results of nuclear run-on experiments suggested that transcription might also be regulated. We measured the activity of genomically-integrated PARP, VSG and rRNA promoters in permanently-transformed blood-stream and procyclic form trypanosomes, using reporter gene constructs that showed no post-transcriptional regulation. When the constructs were integrated in the rRNA non-transcribed spacer, the ribosomal RNA and VSG promoters were not developmentally regulated, but integration at the PARP locus reduced rRNA promoter activity in bloodstream forms. PARP promoter activity was 5-fold down-regulated in bloodstream forms when integrated at either site. Regulation was probably at the level of transcriptional initiation, but elongation through plasmid vector sequences was also reduced.

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Selected References

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