Deadenylation-independent stage-specific mRNA degradation in Leishmania.

ABSTRACT: The life cycle of Leishmania alternates between developmental forms residing within the insect vector (e.g. promastigotes) and the mammalian host (amastigotes). In Leishmania nearly all control of gene expression is post-transcriptional and involves sequences in the 3'-untranslated regions (3'UTRs) of mRNAs. Very little is known as to how these cis-elements regulate RNA turnover and translation rates in trypanosomatids and nothing is known about mRNA degradation mechanisms in Leishmania in particular. Here, we use the amastin mRNA-an amastigote-specific transcript-as a model and show that a approximately 100 nt U-rich element (URE) within its 3'UTR significantly accounts for developmental regulation. RNase-H-RNA blot analysis revealed that a major part of the rapid promastigote-specific de

SUBMITTER: Haile S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2275140 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature