Plasmodium falciparum: alterations in organelle transcript abundance during the erythrocytic cycle

Abstract

The malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum has two extrachromosomal DNAs, a 6 kb reiterated element which appears to be the mitochondrial DNA and a 35 kb circular DNA of unknown function. Examination of relative steady-state transcript abundance during parasite development in the erythrocyte shows that transcripts of 6 kb element protein-coding genes are least abundant in the ring and early trophozoite stages and most abundant in late trophozoites and schizonts, while transcripts from the RNA polymerase subunits of the 35 kb DNA, also least abundant in ring stage, are relatively similar in abundance in succeeding stages. The fragmented rRNAs of the 6 kb element appear to be constitutively abundant except for an increase in the schizont stage, while rRNAs from the 35 kb DNA are least abundant in early trophozoites and most abundant in schizonts. Thus the relative abundance of organelle transcripts alters during the erythrocytic portion of the P. falciparum developmental cycle. These alterations may reflect the relative importance of the roles played by organelle gene products in different life cycle stages.