Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America logoLink to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
. 1981 May;78(5):2673–2677. doi: 10.1073/pnas.78.5.2673

Gene duplication and transposition linked to antigenic variation in Trypanosoma brucei.

E Pays, N Van Meirvenne, D Le Ray, M Steinert
PMCID: PMC319419  PMID: 6265900

Abstract

DNA sequence complementary to Trypanosoma brucei mRNAs coding for the synthesis of the variant-specific antigens AnTat 1.1 and AnTat 1.8 have been cloned and characterized. These sequences have been used as probes to analyze the corresponding genes in the nuclear DNA. The two genes seem to be represented in several (three to six) copies, some of which are incomplete. Transcription of one or the other of these two genes is linked to a genetic rearrangement implying duplication and transposition of the "basic" coding sequence. There is probably one additional copy of each gene, and it seems to be complete. The 3' end of each cloned sequence contains, within a 300-base-pair fragment, a genetic element that seems to be repeated and widely distributed in the genome. This repetitive sequence is variant specific. The expression-linked copy of the gene is lost in the culture (procyclic) form of the trypanosome, where the synthesis of variant-specific antigens is shut down. Comparison of two different cloned populations expressing the same serotype (AnTat 1) showed that the recurrence of a given antigenic type may be accompanied by the production of the same additional copy.

Full text

PDF
2673

Images in this article

2674Image
on p.2674
2674Image
on p.2674
2675Image
on p.2675
2675Image
on p.2675
2675Image
on p.2675
2676Image
on p.2676

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Alwine J. C., Kemp D. J., Stark G. R. Method for detection of specific RNAs in agarose gels by transfer to diazobenzyloxymethyl-paper and hybridization with DNA probes. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1977 Dec;74(12):5350–5354. doi: 10.1073/pnas.74.12.5350. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Baltz T., Baltz D., Pautrizel R., Richet C., Lamblin G., Degand P. Chemical and immunological characterization of specific glycoproteins from Trypanosoma equiperdum variants. FEBS Lett. 1977 Oct 1;82(1):93–96. doi: 10.1016/0014-5793(77)80893-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Borst P., Frasch A. C., Bernards A., Hoeijmakers J. H., Van der Ploeg L. H., Cross G. A. The genes for variant antigens in trypanosomes. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1980 Sep;29(5 Suppl):1033–1036. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.1980.29.1033. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Bridgen P. J., Cross G. A., Bridgen J. N-terminal amino acid sequences of variant-specific surface antigens from Trypanosoma brucei. Nature. 1976 Oct 14;263(5578):613–614. doi: 10.1038/263613a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Cameron J. R., Loh E. Y., Davis R. W. Evidence for transposition of dispersed repetitive DNA families in yeast. Cell. 1979 Apr;16(4):739–751. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(79)90090-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Capbern A., Giroud C., Baltz T., Mattern P. Trypanosoma equiperdum: etude des variations antigéniques au cours de la trypanosomose experimentale du lapin. Exp Parasitol. 1977 Jun;42(1):6–13. doi: 10.1016/0014-4894(77)90055-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Cross G. A. Identification, purification and properties of clone-specific glycoprotein antigens constituting the surface coat of Trypanosoma brucei. Parasitology. 1975 Dec;71(3):393–417. doi: 10.1017/s003118200004717x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Cross G. A. Immunochemical aspects of antigenic variation on trypanosomes. The third Fleming Lecture. J Gen Microbiol. 1979 Jul;113(1):1–11. doi: 10.1099/00221287-113-1-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Finnegan D. J., Rubin G. M., Young M. W., Hogness D. S. Repeated gene families in Drosophila melanogaster. Cold Spring Harb Symp Quant Biol. 1978;42(Pt 2):1053–1063. doi: 10.1101/sqb.1978.042.01.106. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Hoeijmakers J. H., Borst P., van den Burg J., Weissmann C., Cross G. A. The isolation of plasmids containing DNA complementary to messenger RNA for variant surface glycoproteins of Trypanosoma brucei. Gene. 1980 Mar;8(4):391–417. doi: 10.1016/0378-1119(80)90043-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Hoeijmakers J. H., Frasch A. C., Bernards A., Borst P., Cross G. A. Novel expression-linked copies of the genes for variant surface antigens in trypanosomes. Nature. 1980 Mar 6;284(5751):78–80. doi: 10.1038/284078a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Hughes S. H., Shank P. R., Spector D. H., Kung H. J., Bishop J. M., Varmus H. E., Vogt P. K., Breitman M. L. Proviruses of avian sarcoma virus are terminally redundant, co-extensive with unintegrated linear DNA and integrated at many sites. Cell. 1978 Dec;15(4):1397–1410. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(78)90064-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Johnson J. G., Cross G. A. Selective cleavage of variant surface glycoproteins from Trypanosoma brucei. Biochem J. 1979 Mar 15;178(3):689–697. doi: 10.1042/bj1780689. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Laurent M., Van Assel S., Steinert M. Kinetoplast DNA. A unique macromolecular structure of considerable size and mechanical resistance. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1971 Apr 16;43(2):278–284. doi: 10.1016/0006-291x(71)90749-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Le Ray D., Barry J. D., Easton C., Vickerman K. First tsetse fly transmission of the "AnTat" serodeme of Trypanosoma brucei. Ann Soc Belg Med Trop. 1977;57(4-5):369–381. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Le Ray D. Structures antigeniques de Trypsnosoma brucei (Protozoa, Kinetoplastida). Analyse immunoélectrophorétique et étude comparative. Ann Soc Belg Med Trop. 1975;55(3):129–311. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Lheureux M., Lheureux M., Vervoort T., Van Meirvenne N., Steinert M. Immunological purification and partial characterization of variant-specific surface antigen messenger RNA of Trypanosoma brucei brucei. Nucleic Acids Res. 1979 Oct 10;7(3):595–609. doi: 10.1093/nar/7.3.595. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Pays E., Delronche M., Lheureux M., Vervoort T., Bloch J., Gannon F., Steinert M. Cloning and characterization of DNA sequences complementary to messenger ribonucleic acids coding for the synthesis of two surface antigens of Trypanosoma brucei. Nucleic Acids Res. 1980 Dec 20;8(24):5965–5981. doi: 10.1093/nar/8.24.5965. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Rigby P. W., Dieckmann M., Rhodes C., Berg P. Labeling deoxyribonucleic acid to high specific activity in vitro by nick translation with DNA polymerase I. J Mol Biol. 1977 Jun 15;113(1):237–251. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(77)90052-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Southern E. M. Detection of specific sequences among DNA fragments separated by gel electrophoresis. J Mol Biol. 1975 Nov 5;98(3):503–517. doi: 10.1016/s0022-2836(75)80083-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Van Meirvenne N., Janssens P. G., Magnus E. Antigenic variation in syringe passaged populations of Trypanosoma (Trypanozoon) brucei. 1. Rationalization of the experimental approach. Ann Soc Belg Med Trop. 1975;55(1):1–23. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Vickerman K. Antigenic variation in trypanosomes. Nature. 1978 Jun 22;273(5664):613–617. doi: 10.1038/273613a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Vickerman K., Luckins A. G. Localization of variable antigens in the surface coat of Trypanosoma brucei using ferritin conjugated antibody. Nature. 1969 Dec 13;224(5224):1125–1126. doi: 10.1038/2241125a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Vickerman K. On the surface coat and flagellar adhesion in trypanosomes. J Cell Sci. 1969 Jul;5(1):163–193. doi: 10.1242/jcs.5.1.163. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Williams R. O., Marcu K. B., Young J. R., Rovis L., Williams S. C. A characterization of mRNA activites and their sequence complexities in Trypanosoma brucei: partial purification and properties of the VSSA mRNA. Nucleic Acids Res. 1978 Sep;5(9):3171–3182. doi: 10.1093/nar/5.9.3171. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Williams R. O., Young J. R., Majiwa P. A. Genomic rearrangements correlated with antigenic variation in Trypanosoma brucei. Nature. 1979 Dec 20;282(5741):847–849. doi: 10.1038/282847a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America are provided here courtesy of National Academy of Sciences

RESOURCES