Transcripts in the Plasmodium Apicoplast Undergo Cleavage at tRNAs and Editing, and Include Antisense Sequences.

ABSTRACT: The apicoplast, an organelle found in Plasmodium and many other parasitic apicomplexan species, is a remnant chloroplast that is no longer able to carry out photosynthesis. Very little is known about primary transcripts and RNA processing in the Plasmodium apicoplast, although processing in chloroplasts of some related organisms (chromerids and dinoflagellate algae) shows a number of unusual features, including RNA editing and the addition of 3' poly(U) tails. Here, we show that many apicoplast transcripts are polycistronic and that there is extensive RNA processing, often involving the excision of tRNA molecules. We have identified major RNA processing sites, and have shown that these are associated with a conserved sequence motif. We provide the first evidence for the presence of RNA edi

SUBMITTER: Nisbet RER 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4995348 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature