title: Epigenetic regulation of Plasmodium falciparum clonally variant gene expression during development in Anopheles gambiae.
abstract: P. falciparum phenotypic plasticity is linked to the variant expression of clonal multigene families such as the var genes. We have examined changes in transcription and histone modifications that occur during sporogonic development of P. falciparum in the mosquito host. All var genes are silenced or transcribed at low levels in blood stages (gametocyte/ring) of the parasite in the human host. After infection of mosquitoes, a single var gene is selected for expression in the oocyst, and transcription of this gene increases dramatically in the sporozoite. The same PF3D7_1255200 var gene was activated in 4 different experimental infections. Transcription of this var gene during parasite development in the mosquito correlates with the presence of low levels of H3K9me3 at the binding site for the PF3D7_1466400 AP2 transcription factor. This chromatin state in the sporozoite also correlates with the expression of an antisense long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) that has previously been shown to promote var gene transcription during the intraerythrocytic cycle in vitro. Expression of both the sense protein-coding transcript and the antisense lncRNA increase dramatically in sporozoites. The findings suggest a complex process for the activation of a single particular var gene that involves AP2 transcription factors and lncRNAs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Emory University, 1510 Clifton Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gómez-Díaz
authors.affiliation: Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (IRSS), 01 BP 171 Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso.
authors.forename: Rakiswendé S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Yerbanga
authors.affiliation: Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (IRSS), 01 BP 171 Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso.|Maladies Infectieuses et Vecteurs: Écologie, Génétique, Évolution et Contrôle (MIVEGEC, UM -CNRS 5290-IRD 224), Centre IRD, 34394-Montpellier, France.
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lefèvre
authors.affiliation: Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (IRSS), 01 BP 171 Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso.|Maladies Infectieuses et Vecteurs: Écologie, Génétique, Évolution et Contrôle (MIVEGEC, UM -CNRS 5290-IRD 224), Centre IRD, 34394-Montpellier, France.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cohuet
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Emory University, 1510 Clifton Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
authors.forename: M Jordan
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Rowley
authors.affiliation: Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (IRSS), 01 BP 171 Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso.
authors.forename: Jean Bosco
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Ouedraogo
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Emory University, 1510 Clifton Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
authors.forename: Victor G
authors.initials: VG
authors.lastname: Corces
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles / Q000469:parasitology*; D001665:Binding Sites; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D017125:Genes, Protozoan; D006657:Histones / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008018:Life Cycle Stages; D005810:Multigene Family; D010641:Phenotype; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D011485:Protein Binding; D050656:Transcription Factor AP-2 / Q000378:metabolism; D059467:Transcriptome
chemical_list: D006657:Histones; D050656:Transcription Factor AP-2