Keeping Balance Between Genetic Stability and Plasticity at the Telomere and Subtelomere of Trypanosoma brucei

Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology

Bibo Li³ 

[1] Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States;Center for Gene Regulation in Health and Disease, Department of Biological, Geological, and Environmental Sciences, College of Sciences and Health Professions, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH, United States;Center for RNA Science and Therapeutics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States;Department of Inflammation and Immunity, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, United States;

关键词: telomere;    Trypanosoma brucei;    genome stability;    TRF;    RAP1;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fcell.2021.699639

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Telomeres, the nucleoprotein complexes at chromosome ends, are well-known for their essential roles in genome integrity and chromosome stability. Yet, telomeres and subtelomeres are frequently less stable than chromosome internal regions. Many subtelomeric genes are important for responding to environmental cues, and subtelomeric instability can facilitate organismal adaptation to extracellular changes, which is a common theme in a number of microbial pathogens. In this review, I will focus on the delicate and important balance between stability and plasticity at telomeres and subtelomeres of a kinetoplastid parasite, Trypanosoma brucei, which causes human African trypanosomiasis and undergoes antigenic variation to evade the host immune response. I will summarize the current understanding about T. brucei telomere protein complex, the telomeric transcript, and telomeric R-loops, focusing on their roles in maintaining telomere and subtelomere stability and integrity. The similarities and differences in functions and underlying mechanisms of T. brucei telomere factors will be compared with those in human and yeast cells.

【 授权许可】

Unknown