title: Parasite genome analysis. Genome research in Trypanosoma brucei: chromosome size polymorphism and its relevance to genome mapping and analysis.
abstract: Before the development of pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), little was known of the chromosomal organization of Trypanosoma brucei. This technique first revealed that the nuclear genome was subdivided into distinct size classes of chromosomes, subsequently shown to have disparate genetic roles in the life cycle of the parasite. PFGE also facilitated the determination of chromosome ploidy and the observation that apparent homologues often differed significantly in size within and between isolates. While the biological reasons underlying this plasticity may prove very interesting, nevertheless it could pose real problems for the global analysis of the T. brucei genome. Therefore, before undertaking large scale physical mapping, it is necessary to determine the number and size of chromosomes in the reference stock; to compare these to the chromosomes of other stocks to determine the relative sizes of homologues; and to investigate the deoxyribonucleic acid content of the size of polymorphic regions in order to assess how these may affect the execution of a physical mapping programme.
authors.affiliation: University of Cambridge, Department of Pathology, UK.
authors.forename: S E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Melville
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D015342:DNA Probes; D016208:Databases, Factual; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D018503:Genome, Protozoan; D007621:Karyotyping; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D014346:Trypanosoma brucei brucei / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D015342:DNA Probes