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Multiple dimensions of epigenetic gene regulation in the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum
Author(s) -
Ay Ferhat,
Bunnik Evelien M.,
Varoquaux Nelle,
Vert JeanPhilippe,
Noble William Stafford,
Le Roch Karine G.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
bioessays
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.175
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1521-1878
pISSN - 0265-9247
DOI - 10.1002/bies.201400145
Subject(s) - epigenetics , plasmodium falciparum , biology , epigenome , malaria , histone , genetics , gene , regulation of gene expression , plasmodium (life cycle) , computational biology , parasite hosting , dna methylation , gene expression , immunology , world wide web , computer science
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.