title: A silenced Plasmodium falciparum var promoter can be activated in vivo through spontaneous deletion of a silencing element in the intron.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-8132, USA.
authors.forename: Laïla
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gannoun-Zaki
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jost
authors.forename: Jianbing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mu
authors.forename: Kirk W
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Deitsch
authors.forename: Thomas E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Wellems
mesh_terms: 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