title: Trypanosoma cruzi: identification of DNA targets of the nuclear periphery coiled-coil protein TcNUP-1.
abstract: The nuclear lamina is a structure that lines the inner nuclear membrane. In metazoans, lamins are the primary structural components of the nuclear lamina and are involved in several processes. Eukaryotes that lack lamins have distinct proteins with homologous functions. Some years ago, a coiled-coil protein in Trypanosoma brucei, NUP-1, was identified as the major filamentous component of its nuclear lamina. However, its precise role has not been determined. We characterized a homologous protein in Trypanosoma cruzi, TcNUP-1, and identified its in vivo DNA binding sites using a chromatin immunoprecipitation assay. We demonstrate for the first time that TcNUP-1 associates with chromosomal regions containing large non-tandem arrays of genes encoding surface proteins. We therefore suggest that TcNUP-1 is a structural protein that plays an essential role in nuclear organization by anchoring T. cruzi chromosomes to the nuclear envelope.
authors.affiliation: Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Instituto Carlos Chagas, R Professor Algacyr Munhoz Mader, 3775 Cidade Industrial-Paraná, 81350-010 Curitiba, PR, Brazil. gpicchi@tecpar.br
authors.forename: Gisele F A
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Picchi
authors.forename: Alda M T
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.forename: Flávia S P
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Souza
authors.forename: Edio E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Lourenço
authors.forename: Paulo R C
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Arauco
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lorusso
authors.forename: Juliano
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bordignon
authors.forename: Marco A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Krieger
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Goldenberg
authors.forename: Stenio P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Fragoso
mesh_terms: D047369:Chromatin Immunoprecipitation; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D016054:DNA, Protozoan / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D009685:Nuclear Envelope / Q000737:chemistry; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D014349:Trypanosoma cruzi / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D016054:DNA, Protozoan; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D015800:Protozoan Proteins