This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Wickstead, B. Articles by Gull, K. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Wickstead, B. Articles by Gull, K.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews, September 2003, p. 360-375, Vol. 67, No. 3
1092-2172/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/MMBR.67.3.360-375.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Repetitive Elements in Genomes of Parasitic Protozoa

Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3RE,¹ School of Biological Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT United Kingdom²

Repetitive DNA elements have been a part of the genomic fauna of eukaryotes perhaps since their very beginnings. Millions of years of coevolution have given repeats central roles in chromosome maintenance and genetic modulation. Here we review the genomes of parasitic protozoa in the context of the current understanding of repetitive elements. Particular reference is made to repeats in five medically important species with ongoing or completed genome sequencing projects: Plasmodium falciparum, Leishmania major, Trypanosoma brucei, Trypanosoma cruzi, and Giardia lamblia. These organisms are used to illustrate five thematic classes of repeats with different structures and genomic locations. We discuss how these repeat classes may interact with parasitic life-style and also how they can be used as experimental tools. The story which emerges is one of opportunism and upheaval which have been employed to add genetic diversity and genomic flexibility.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Li, F., Sonbuchner, L., Kyes, S. A., Epp, C., Deitsch, K. W. (2008). Nuclear Non-coding RNAs Are Transcribed from the Centromeres of Plasmodium falciparum and Are Associated with Centromeric Chromatin. J. Biol. Chem. 283: 5692-5698 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Souza, R. T., Santos, M. R. M., Lima, F. M., El-Sayed, N. M., Myler, P. J., Ruiz, J. C., da Silveira, J. F. (2007). New Trypanosoma cruzi Repeated Element That Shows Site Specificity for Insertion. Eukaryot Cell 6: 1228-1238 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Heras, S. R., Lopez, M. C., Garcia-Perez, J. L., Martin, S. L., Thomas, M. C. (2005). The L1Tc C-Terminal Domain from Trypanosoma cruzi Non-Long Terminal Repeat Retrotransposon Codes for a Protein That Bears Two C2H2 Zinc Finger Motifs and Is Endowed with Nucleic Acid Chaperone Activity. Mol. Cell. Biol. 25: 9209-9220 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Pritham, E. J., Feschotte, C., Wessler, S. R. (2005). Unexpected Diversity and Differential Success of DNA Transposons in Four Species of Entamoeba Protozoans. Mol Biol Evol 22: 1751-1763 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Lowell, J. E., Cross, G. A. M. (2004). A variant histone H3 is enriched at telomeres in Trypanosoma brucei. J. Cell Sci. 117: 5937-5947 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Ohst, T., de Hoog, S., Presber, W., Stavrakieva, V., Graser, Y. (2004). Origins of Microsatellite Diversity in the Trichophyton rubrum- T. violaceum Clade (Dermatophytes). J. Clin. Microbiol. 42: 4444-4448 [Abstract] [Full Text]