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Study of PfMyb1 Transcription Factor Regulation Network during Plasmodium falciparum Erythrocytic Cycle
Author(s) -
GISSOT M.,
BRIQUET S.,
BOSCHET C.,
REFOUR P.,
VAQUERO C.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
journal of eukaryotic microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.067
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 1550-7408
pISSN - 1066-5234
DOI - 10.1111/j.1550-7408.2005.05202003_3_10.x
Subject(s) - biology , transcriptional regulation , gene , transcription (linguistics) , transcription factor , post transcriptional regulation , gene expression , cell cycle , regulation of gene expression , promoter , genetics , plasmodium falciparum , messenger rna , microbiology and biotechnology , rna polymerase ii , immunology , linguistics , philosophy , malaria
During the complex life cycle of Plasmodium falciparum , the regulation of events that occur during the erythrocytic cycle, such as proliferation and differentiation, implies a fine control of transcriptional activities governing the expression profiles of each gene. However, transcriptional regulation and notably its actors, transcription factors and regulation motifs, are poorly described in Plasmodium . In order to decipher the mechanisms implicated in transcriptional regulation, we studied a transcription factor belonging to the trytophan family and showed that the PfMyb1 protein contained in nuclear extracts has a specific DNA binding activity. We took advantage of long pfmyb1 double stranded RNA (dsRNA) to inactivate the cognate messenger and understand the role of PfMyb1 during the erythrocytic cycle. Culture treated with pfmyb1 dsRNA exhibited a 40% growth inhibition and mortality during trophozoite to schizont transition when compared to either untreated control or culture treated with unrelated long dsRNA. We have further demonstrated that pfmyb1 transcript and protein decreased up to 80% in treated trophozoite culture at the time of pfmyb1 expression peak. Thus, we investigated the effect of this partial loss of transcript and protein using a thematic DNA microarray containing PCR products, representative of P. falciparum genes involved in cell cycle and transcriptional regulation. SAM software enabled us to identify several genes over and under‐expressed, potentially directly or indirectly regulated by PfMyb1. These alterations of expression were verified by qPCR and Western blotting. We are currently working on the promoters of those genes to decode determinants of gene regulation by Pfmyb1.