Differentiation of Plasmodium male gametocytes is initiated by the recruitment of a chromatin remodeler to a male-specific cis-element.

ABSTRACT: Plasmodium parasites, the causative agents of malaria, possess a complex lifecycle; however, the mechanisms of gene regulation involved in the cell-type changes remain unknown. Here, we report that gametocyte sucrose nonfermentable 2 (gSNF2), an SNF2-like chromatin remodeling ATPase, plays an essential role in the differentiation of male gametocytes. Upon disruption of gSNF2, male gametocytes lost the capacity to develop into gametes. ChIP-seq analyses revealed that gSNF2 is widely recruited upstream of male-specific genes through a five-base, male-specific cis-acting element. In gSNF2-disrupted parasites, expression of over a hundred target genes was significantly decreased. ATAC-seq analysis demonstrated that decreased expression of these genes correlated with a decr

SUBMITTER: Kaneko I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10193995 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature