Multiple dimensions of epigenetic gene regulation in the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum: gene regulation via histone modifications, nucleosome positioning and nuclear architecture in P. falciparum.
Plasmodium falciparum is the most deadly human malarial parasite, responsible for an estimated 207 million cases of disease and 627,000 deaths in 2012. Recent studies reveal that the parasite actively regulates a large fraction of its genes throughout its replicative cycle inside human red blood cells and that epigenetics plays an important role in this precise gene regulation. Here, we discuss recent advances in our understanding of three aspects of epigenetic regulation in P. falciparum: changes in histone modifications, nucleosome occupancy and the three-dimensional genome structure. We compare these three aspects of the P. falciparum epigenome to those of other eukaryotes, and show that large-scale compartmentalization is particularly important in determining histone decomposition and gene regulation in P. falciparum. We conclude by presenting a gene regulation model for P. falciparum that combines the described epigenetic factors, and by discussing the implications of this model for the future of malaria research.
Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
Ferhat
F
Ay
Evelien M
EM
Bunnik
Nelle
N
Varoquaux
Jean-Philippe
JP
Vert
William Stafford
WS
Noble
Karine G
KG
Le Roch
D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D006657:Histones / Q000378:metabolism*; D008288:Malaria / Q000469:parasitology; D009707:Nucleosomes / Q000378:metabolism*; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D014774:Virulence
D006657:Histones; D009707:Nucleosomes
epigenetics; gene regulation; histone modifications; malaria; nucleosome occupancy; three-dimensional genome organization; virulence genes