Peculiarities of Plasmodium falciparum Gene Regulation and Chromatin Structure.
Int J Mol Sci
; 22(10)2021 May 13.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-34068393
ABSTRACT
The highly complex life cycle of the human malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, is based on an orchestrated and tightly regulated gene expression program. In general, eukaryotic transcription regulation is determined by a combination of sequence-specific transcription factors binding to regulatory DNA elements and the packaging of DNA into chromatin as an additional layer. The accessibility of regulatory DNA elements is controlled by the nucleosome occupancy and changes of their positions by an active process called nucleosome remodeling. These epigenetic mechanisms are poorly explored in P. falciparum. The parasite genome is characterized by an extraordinarily high AT-content and the distinct architecture of functional elements, and chromatin-related proteins also exhibit high sequence divergence compared to other eukaryotes. Together with the distinct biochemical properties of nucleosomes, these features suggest substantial differences in chromatin-dependent regulation. Here, we highlight the peculiarities of epigenetic mechanisms in P. falciparum, addressing chromatin structure and dynamics with respect to their impact on transcriptional control. We focus on the specialized chromatin remodeling enzymes and discuss their essential function in P. falciparum gene regulation.
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Texto completo:
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Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Plasmodium falciparum
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Transcrição Gênica
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Regulação da Expressão Gênica
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Malária Falciparum
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Montagem e Desmontagem da Cromatina
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Epigênese Genética
Tipo de estudo:
Prognostic_studies
Limite:
Animals
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Humans
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2021
Tipo de documento:
Article