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. 1989 Sep;9(9):3614–3620. doi: 10.1128/mcb.9.9.3614

Sequence identification of cytochrome b in Plasmodium gallinaceum.

S M Aldritt 1, J T Joseph 1, D F Wirth 1
PMCID: PMC362421  PMID: 2779560

Abstract

We have identified a gene that encodes the polypeptide cytochrome b in the avian malarial parasite Plasmodium gallinaceum. The gene containing the open reading frame was found to be located on a 6.2-kilobase multimeric extrachromosomal element. The amino acid translation from this gene demonstrated significant similarities to cytochrome b sequences from yeast, mammal, and fungus genomes. We present evidence that the P. gallinaceum cytochrome b transcript is part of a larger primary transcript from the element that is subsequently processed. The message for P. gallinaceum cytochrome b was found to be 1.2 kilobases in size. This is the first report identifying a mitochondrial nucleic acid sequence in malaria-causing organisms and suggests that a functional cytochrome system may exist in these parasites.

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