Peculiarities of <i>Plasmodium falciparum</i> Gene Regulation and Chromatin Structure
The highly complex life cycle of the human malaria parasite, <i>Plasmodium falciparum</i>, 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...
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MDPI AG
2021-05-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/10/5168 |
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| author | Maria Theresia Watzlowik Sujaan Das Markus Meissner Gernot Längst |
| author_facet | Maria Theresia Watzlowik Sujaan Das Markus Meissner Gernot Längst |
| author_sort | Maria Theresia Watzlowik |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The highly complex life cycle of the human malaria parasite, <i>Plasmodium falciparum</i>, 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 <i>P. falciparum.</i> 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 <i>P. falciparum</i>, 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 <i>P. falciparum</i> gene regulation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T11:26:14Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cf575cb7f9bd4612b2061cdd74c2b218 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1661-6596 1422-0067 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T11:26:14Z |
| publishDate | 2021-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-cf575cb7f9bd4612b2061cdd74c2b2182023-11-21T19:38:54ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences1661-65961422-00672021-05-012210516810.3390/ijms22105168Peculiarities of <i>Plasmodium falciparum</i> Gene Regulation and Chromatin StructureMaria Theresia Watzlowik0Sujaan Das1Markus Meissner2Gernot Längst3Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, Biochemistry III, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstr. 31, 93053 Regensburg, GermanyFaculty of Veterinary Medicine, Chair of Experimental Parasitology, Ludwig-Maximilian-University, Munich, Lena-Christ-Str. 48, 82152 Martinsried-Planegg, GermanyFaculty of Veterinary Medicine, Chair of Experimental Parasitology, Ludwig-Maximilian-University, Munich, Lena-Christ-Str. 48, 82152 Martinsried-Planegg, GermanyDepartment of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, Biochemistry III, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstr. 31, 93053 Regensburg, GermanyThe highly complex life cycle of the human malaria parasite, <i>Plasmodium falciparum</i>, 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 <i>P. falciparum.</i> 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 <i>P. falciparum</i>, 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 <i>P. falciparum</i> gene regulation.https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/10/5168chromatinepigenetics<i>Plasmodium falciparum</i>nucleosomenucleosome remodelingtranscription regulation |
| spellingShingle | Maria Theresia Watzlowik Sujaan Das Markus Meissner Gernot Längst Peculiarities of <i>Plasmodium falciparum</i> Gene Regulation and Chromatin Structure International Journal of Molecular Sciences chromatin epigenetics <i>Plasmodium falciparum</i> nucleosome nucleosome remodeling transcription regulation |
| title | Peculiarities of <i>Plasmodium falciparum</i> Gene Regulation and Chromatin Structure |
| title_full | Peculiarities of <i>Plasmodium falciparum</i> Gene Regulation and Chromatin Structure |
| title_fullStr | Peculiarities of <i>Plasmodium falciparum</i> Gene Regulation and Chromatin Structure |
| title_full_unstemmed | Peculiarities of <i>Plasmodium falciparum</i> Gene Regulation and Chromatin Structure |
| title_short | Peculiarities of <i>Plasmodium falciparum</i> Gene Regulation and Chromatin Structure |
| title_sort | peculiarities of i plasmodium falciparum i gene regulation and chromatin structure |
| topic | chromatin epigenetics <i>Plasmodium falciparum</i> nucleosome nucleosome remodeling transcription regulation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/10/5168 |
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