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Trypanosoma cruzi epimastigotes lack ornithine decarboxylase but can express a foreign gene encoding this enzyme
Author(s) -
Carolina Carrillo,
Silvina Cejas,
Nélida S. González,
Israel D. Algranati
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1016/s0014-5793(99)00804-2
Subject(s) - trypanosoma cruzi , ornithine decarboxylase , biology , ornithine decarboxylase antizyme , gene , biochemistry , polyamine , gene expression , enzyme , intracellular , microbiology and biotechnology , parasite hosting , computer science , world wide web
Trypanosoma cruzi, a pathogenic protozoan causing Chagas disease, lacks ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), the enzyme catalyzing the first step of polyamine biosynthetic pathway in eukaryotic cells. Our results indicate that the auxotrophy for diamines of T. cruzi epimastigotes is due to the absence of an active ODC gene in these parasites and not to the inability for the expression of this gene. The introduction of an exogenous complete coding region from Crithidia fasciculata ODC gene inserted in an expression vector specific for trypanosomatids induces the normal expression of the foreign genetic information allowing the transformed T. cruzi to overcome the exogenous polyamine requirement for growth. The enzyme expressed in the transformed parasites has shown a considerably extended metabolic stability. The loss of ODC activity in T. cruzi might be related to the parasite adaptation to the intracellular stages of its life cycle.