Leishmania: Responding to environmental signals and challenges without regulated transcription

Janne Grünebast; Joachim Clos

doi:10.1016/j.csbj.2020.11.058

Leishmania: Responding to environmental signals and challenges without regulated transcription

Comput Struct Biotechnol J. 2020 Dec 7:18:4016-4023. doi: 10.1016/j.csbj.2020.11.058. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Janne Grünebast¹, Joachim Clos¹

Affiliation

¹ Leishmaniasis Group, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany.

Abstract

Here we describe the non-canonical control of gene expression in Leishmania, a single-cell parasite that is responsible for one of the major neglected tropical diseases. We discuss the lack of regulated RNA synthesis, the post-transcriptional gene regulation including RNA stability and regulated translation. We also show that genetic adaptations such as mosaic aneuploidy, gene copy number variations and DNA sequence polymorphisms are important means for overcoming drug challenge and environmental diversity. These mechanisms are discussed in the context of the unique flow of genetic information found in Leishmania and related protists.

Keywords: Aneuploidy; Gene copy number; Leishmania; Translational regulation.

Publication types

Review