Redefining the expressed prototype SICAvar gene involved in Plasmodium knowlesi antigenic variation.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The SICAvar gene family, expressed at the surface of infected erythrocytes, is critical for antigenic variation in Plasmodium knowlesi. When this family was discovered, a prototypic SICAvar gene was characterized and defined by a 10-exon structure. The predicted 205-kDa protein lacked a convincing signal peptide, but included a series of variable cysteine-rich modules, a transmembrane domain encoded by the penultimate exon, and a cytoplasmic domain encoded by the final highly conserved exon. The 205 SICAvar gene and its family with up to 108 possible family members, was identified prior to the sequencing of the P. knowlesi genome. However, in the published P. knowlesi database this gene remains disjointed in five fragments. This study addresses a number of structural and

SUBMITTER: Lapp SA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3152765 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature