Molecular Biology's Lessons about Toxoplasma Development: Stage-specific Homologs.
Within intermediate hosts (such as humans), the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii has two life cycle stages: a rapidly replicating form called a tachyzoite and a slowly growing, quiescent form called a bradyzoite. Recently, molecular biology studies have shown that tachyzoites and bradyzoites express a number of homologs (ie. evolutionary related genes)expressed exclusively in one or the other stage. Here, Laura Knoll and John Boothroyd describe examples of how these stage-specific homologs were discovered, and speculate about their regulation and functional significance.
Knoll
L J
LJ
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305-5124, USA.
Boothroyd
J C
JC