title: Telomeric heterochromatin in Plasmodium falciparum.
abstract: Until very recently, little was known about the chromatin structure of the telomeres and subtelomeric regions in Plasmodium falciparum. In yeast and Drosophila melanogaster, chromatin structure has long been known to be an important aspect in the regulation and functioning of these regions. Telomeres and subtelomeric regions are enriched in epigenetic marks that are specific to heterochromatin, such as methylation of lysine 9 of histone H3 and lysine 20 of histone H4. In P. falciparum, histone modifications and the presence of both the heterochromatin "writing" (PfSir2, PKMT) and "reading" (PfHP1) machinery at telomeric and subtelomeric regions indicate that these regions are likely to have heterochromatic structure that is epigenetically regulated. This structure may be important for telomere functions such as the silencing of the var gene family implicated in the cytoadherence and antigenic variation of these parasites.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biomedicina Molecular, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Apartado Postal 14-740, 07360 México, DF, Mexico. rohernan@cinvestav.mx
authors.forename: Rosaura
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hernandez-Rivas
authors.forename: Karla
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Pérez-Toledo
authors.forename: Abril-Marcela
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Herrera Solorio
authors.forename: Dulce María
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Delgadillo
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vargas
mesh_terms: D002875:Chromosomes / Q000378:metabolism; D006570:Heterochromatin / Q000378:metabolism*; D006657:Histones / Q000378:metabolism; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D011499:Protein Processing, Post-Translational; D016615:Telomere / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D006570:Heterochromatin; D006657:Histones