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Variable switching rates of malaria virulence genes are associated with chromosomal position.

ABSTRACT: Antigenic variation in Plasmodium falciparum malaria is mediated by transcriptional switches between different members of the multicopy var gene family. Each var gene encodes a member of a group of heterogeneous surface proteins collectively referred to as PfEMP1. Mutually exclusive expression ensures that an individual parasite only transcribes a single var gene at a time. In this work we studied var gene switching to determine if transcriptional switches favour expression of particular subgroups of var genes and if var gene activation within a clonal population of parasites follows a predetermined order. We show that in clonal parasite populations, expression of var genes located in the central regions of chromosomes is remarkably stable and that they rarely undergo transcriptional switches in the absence of selection. In contrast, parasites expressing subtelomerically located var genes readily switched to alternative var loci. We confirmed these observations by generating transgenic parasites carrying drug selectable markers in subtelomeric and central var loci and monitoring switching after release from selection. Our data show that different var genes have different intrinsic switching rates that correlate with chromosomal location, and that there is no predetermined order of expression.

SUBMITTER: Frank M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3634120 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Variable switching rates of malaria virulence genes are associated with chromosomal position.

Frank Matthias M Dzikowski Ron R Amulic Borko B Deitsch Kirk K

Molecular microbiology 20070601 6

Antigenic variation in Plasmodium falciparum malaria is mediated by transcriptional switches between different members of the multicopy var gene family. Each var gene encodes a member of a group of heterogeneous surface proteins collectively referred to as PfEMP1. Mutually exclusive expression ensures that an individual parasite only transcribes a single var gene at a time. In this work we studied var gene switching to determine if transcriptional switches favour expression of particular subgrou ...[more]

PMID: 17555435

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Project description:Mycoplasma bovis, an important pathogen of cattle, was recently shown to possess a family of phase- and size-variable membrane surface lipoprotein antigens (Vsps). These proteins spontaneously undergo noncoordinate phase variation between ON and OFF expression states, generating surface antigenic variation. In the present study, we show that the spontaneously high rate of Vsp phenotypic switching involves DNA rearrangements that occur at high frequency in the M. bovis chromosome. A 1.5-kb HindIII genomic fragment carrying the vspA gene from M. bovis PG45 was cloned and sequenced. The deduced VspA amino acid sequence revealed that 80% of the VspA molecule is composed of reiterated intragenic coding sequences, creating a periodic polypeptide structure. Four distinct internal regions of repetitive sequences in the form of in-tandem blocks extending from the N-terminal to the C-terminal portion of the Vsp product were identified. Southern blot analysis of phenotypically switched isogenic lineages representing ON or OFF phase states of Vsp products suggested that changes in the Vsp expression profile were associated with detectable changes at the DNA level. By using a synthetic oligonucleotide representing a sequence complementary to the repetitive vspA gene region as a probe, we could identify the vspA-bearing restriction fragment undergoing high-frequency reversible rearrangements during oscillating phase transition of vspA. The 1.5-kb HindIII fragment carrying the vspA gene (on state) rearranged and produced a 2.3-kb HindIII fragment (OFF state) and vice versa. Two newly discovered vsp genes (vspE and vspF) were localized on two HindIII fragments flanking the vsp gene upstream and downstream. Southern blot hybridization with vspE- and vspF-specific oligonucleotides as probes against genomic DNA of VspA phase variants showed that the organization and size of the fragments adjacent to the vspA gene remained unchanged during VspA ON-OFF switching. The mechanisms regulating the vsp genes are yet unknown; our findings suggest that a recombinative mechanism possibly involving DNA inversions, DNA insertion, or mobile genetic elements may play a role in generating the observed high-frequency DNA rearrangements.

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Variable switching rates of malaria virulence genes are associated with chromosomal position.

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Variable switching rates of malaria virulence genes are associated with chromosomal position.

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