Tail characteristics of Trypanosoma brucei mitochondrial transcripts are developmentally altered in a transcript-specific manner

International Journal for Parasitology
Vahid H GazestaniSara L Zimmer

Abstract

The intricate life cycle of Trypanosoma brucei requires extensive regulation of gene expression levels of the mtRNAs for adaptation. Post-transcriptional gene regulatory programs, including unencoded mtRNA 3' tail additions, potentially play major roles in this adaptation process. Intriguingly, T. brucei mitochondrial transcripts possess two distinct unencoded 3' tails, each with a differing functional role; i.e., while one type is implicated in RNA stability (in-tails), the other type appears associated with translation (ex-tails). We examined the degree to which tail characteristics differ among cytochrome c oxidase subunits I and III (CO1 and CO3), and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 1 (ND1) transcripts, and to what extent these characteristics differ developmentally. We found that CO1, CO3 and ND1 transcripts possess longer in-tails in the mammalian life stage. By mathematically modelling states of in-tail and ex-tail addition, we determined that the typical length at which an in-tail is extended to become an ex-tail differs by transcript and, in the case of ND1, by life stage. To the best of our knowledge, we provide the first evidence that developmental differences exist in tail length distributions of mtRNAs, underscoring the...Continue Reading

Citations

Jun 12, 2018·Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews. RNA·Sara L ZimmerLaurie K Read
Jan 31, 2019·Nucleic Acids Research·Brianna L TylecLaurie K Read
Jan 22, 2020·Molecular Microbiology·Roger Ramirez-BarriosSara L Zimmer
Dec 18, 2020·Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews. RNA·Inna Aphasizheva, Ruslan Aphasizhev
Jan 7, 2021·PloS One·Marshall HamptonSara L Zimmer

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

African Trypanosomiasis

African trypanosomiasis, also known as sleeping sickness, is an insect-borne parasitic disease of humans and other animals. It is caused by protozoa of the species Trypanosoma brucei and almost invariably progresses to death unless treated. Discover the latest research on African trypanosomiasis here.