A silenced Plasmodium falciparum var promoter can be activated in vivo through spontaneous deletion of a silencing element in the intron.
Introns of Plasmodium falciparum var genes act as transcriptional silencing elements that help control antigenic variations. In transfected episomes, intron silencing of a drug-selectable marker under var promoter control is reversed by the spontaneous deletion of key intron regions. The resulting promoter activation does not affect the transcription of chromosomal var genes.
Gannoun-Zaki
Laïla
L
Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-8132, USA.
Jost
Amy
A
Mu
Jianbing
J
Deitsch
Kirk W
KW
Wellems
Thomas E
TE
D000818:Animals; D017353:Gene Deletion; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D020868:Gene Silencing; D017930:Genes, Reporter; D007438:Introns; D010957:Plasmids / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000235:genetics*; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic