Chromatin Accessibility-Based Characterization of the Gene Regulatory Network Underlying Plasmodium falciparum Blood-Stage Development.

ABSTRACT: Underlying the development of malaria parasites within erythrocytes and the resulting pathogenicity is a hardwired program that secures proper timing of gene transcription and production of functionally relevant proteins. How stage-specific gene expression is orchestrated in vivo remains unclear. Here, using the assay for transposase accessible chromatin sequencing (ATAC-seq), we identified ∼4,000 regulatory regions in P. falciparum intraerythrocytic stages. The vast majority of these sites are located within 2 kb upstream of transcribed genes and their chromatin accessibility pattern correlates positively with abundance of the respective mRNA transcript. Importantly, these regions are sufficient to drive stage-specific reporter gene expression and DNA motifs enriched in stage-specific set

SUBMITTER: Toenhake CG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5899830 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature