Analysis of pir gene expression across the Plasmodium life cycle

Abstract Background Plasmodium interspersed repeat (pir) is the largest multigene family in the genomes of most Plasmodium species. A variety of functions for the PIR proteins which they encode have been proposed, including antigenic variation, immune evasion, sequestration and rosetting. However, d...

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Autores principales:	Timothy S. Little, Deirdre A. Cunningham, Audrey Vandomme, Carlos Talavera Lopez, Sarah Amis, Christopher Alder, John W. G. Addy, Sarah McLaughlin, Caroline Hosking, George Christophides, Adam J. Reid, Jean Langhorne
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	BMC 2021
Materias:	Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/9efaea334f8249f48589d96afa34ed43
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:9efaea334f8249f48589d96afa34ed432021-11-28T12:30:48ZAnalysis of pir gene expression across the Plasmodium life cycle10.1186/s12936-021-03979-61475-2875https://doaj.org/article/9efaea334f8249f48589d96afa34ed432021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-021-03979-6https://doaj.org/toc/1475-2875Abstract Background Plasmodium interspersed repeat (pir) is the largest multigene family in the genomes of most Plasmodium species. A variety of functions for the PIR proteins which they encode have been proposed, including antigenic variation, immune evasion, sequestration and rosetting. However, direct evidence for these is lacking. The repetitive nature of the family has made it difficult to determine function experimentally. However, there has been some success in using gene expression studies to suggest roles for some members in virulence and chronic infection. Methods Here pir gene expression was examined across the life cycle of Plasmodium berghei using publicly available RNAseq data-sets, and at high resolution in the intraerythrocytic development cycle using new data from Plasmodium chabaudi. Results Expression of pir genes is greatest in stages of the parasite which invade and reside in red blood cells. The marked exception is that liver merozoites and male gametocytes produce a very large number of pir gene transcripts, notably compared to female gametocytes, which produce relatively few. Within the asexual blood stages different subfamilies peak at different times, suggesting further functional distinctions. Representing a subfamily of its own, the highly conserved ancestral pir gene warrants further investigation due to its potential tractability for functional investigation. It is highly transcribed in multiple life cycle stages and across most studied Plasmodium species and thus is likely to play an important role in parasite biology. Conclusions The identification of distinct expression patterns for different pir genes and subfamilies is likely to provide a basis for the design of future experiments to uncover their function.Timothy S. LittleDeirdre A. CunninghamAudrey VandommeCarlos Talavera LopezSarah AmisChristopher AlderJohn W. G. AddySarah McLaughlinCaroline HoskingGeorge ChristophidesAdam J. ReidJean LanghorneBMCarticleArctic medicine. Tropical medicineRC955-962Infectious and parasitic diseasesRC109-216ENMalaria Journal, Vol 20, Iss 1, Pp 1-14 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216
spellingShingle	Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 Timothy S. Little Deirdre A. Cunningham Audrey Vandomme Carlos Talavera Lopez Sarah Amis Christopher Alder John W. G. Addy Sarah McLaughlin Caroline Hosking George Christophides Adam J. Reid Jean Langhorne Analysis of pir gene expression across the Plasmodium life cycle
description	Abstract Background Plasmodium interspersed repeat (pir) is the largest multigene family in the genomes of most Plasmodium species. A variety of functions for the PIR proteins which they encode have been proposed, including antigenic variation, immune evasion, sequestration and rosetting. However, direct evidence for these is lacking. The repetitive nature of the family has made it difficult to determine function experimentally. However, there has been some success in using gene expression studies to suggest roles for some members in virulence and chronic infection. Methods Here pir gene expression was examined across the life cycle of Plasmodium berghei using publicly available RNAseq data-sets, and at high resolution in the intraerythrocytic development cycle using new data from Plasmodium chabaudi. Results Expression of pir genes is greatest in stages of the parasite which invade and reside in red blood cells. The marked exception is that liver merozoites and male gametocytes produce a very large number of pir gene transcripts, notably compared to female gametocytes, which produce relatively few. Within the asexual blood stages different subfamilies peak at different times, suggesting further functional distinctions. Representing a subfamily of its own, the highly conserved ancestral pir gene warrants further investigation due to its potential tractability for functional investigation. It is highly transcribed in multiple life cycle stages and across most studied Plasmodium species and thus is likely to play an important role in parasite biology. Conclusions The identification of distinct expression patterns for different pir genes and subfamilies is likely to provide a basis for the design of future experiments to uncover their function.
format	article
author	Timothy S. Little Deirdre A. Cunningham Audrey Vandomme Carlos Talavera Lopez Sarah Amis Christopher Alder John W. G. Addy Sarah McLaughlin Caroline Hosking George Christophides Adam J. Reid Jean Langhorne
author_facet	Timothy S. Little Deirdre A. Cunningham Audrey Vandomme Carlos Talavera Lopez Sarah Amis Christopher Alder John W. G. Addy Sarah McLaughlin Caroline Hosking George Christophides Adam J. Reid Jean Langhorne
author_sort	Timothy S. Little
title	Analysis of pir gene expression across the Plasmodium life cycle
title_short	Analysis of pir gene expression across the Plasmodium life cycle
title_full	Analysis of pir gene expression across the Plasmodium life cycle
title_fullStr	Analysis of pir gene expression across the Plasmodium life cycle
title_full_unstemmed	Analysis of pir gene expression across the Plasmodium life cycle
title_sort	analysis of pir gene expression across the plasmodium life cycle
publisher	BMC
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/9efaea334f8249f48589d96afa34ed43
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Analysis of pir gene expression across the Plasmodium life cycle

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