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. 1991 Aug;10(8):2047–2053. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1991.tb07735.x

The trypanosome VSG expression site encodes adenylate cyclase and a leucine-rich putative regulatory gene.

D T Ross 1, A Raibaud 1, I C Florent 1, S Sather 1, M K Gross 1, D R Storm 1, H Eisen 1
PMCID: PMC452886  PMID: 2065652

Abstract

African trypanosomes are protozoan parasites that evade the host immune system by varying their dense antigenic coat. The Variant Surface Glycoprotein (VSG) is expressed exclusively from telomere-linked expression sites that contain in addition to the VSG gene, a number of open reading frames termed Expression Site Associated Genes (ESAGs). Here we demonstrate by complementation of a yeast mutant deleted for adenylate cyclase (cyr-1), that an ESAG from Trypanosoma equiperdum encodes an adenylate cyclase. Furthermore, we report that adjacent to adenylate cyclase in the expression site, is a separate open reading frame that encodes a protein sequence motif similar to the leucine-rich repeat regulatory domain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Schizosaccharomyces pombe adenylate cyclases. The finding of two adjacent open reading frames homologous to a single enzyme in yeast suggests that the two expression site encoded proteins may interact to regulate adenylate cyclase activity during the course of an infection.

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Selected References

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