%0 Journal Article
%T Genome-wide expression profiling of in vivo-derived bloodstream parasite stages and dynamic analysis of mRNA alterations during synchronous differentiation in Trypanosoma brucei
%A Sarah Kabani
%A Katelyn Fenn
%A Alan Ross
%A Al Ivens
%A Terry K Smith
%A Peter Ghazal
%A Keith Matthews
%J BMC Genomics
%D 2009
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1471-2164-10-427
%X In this study we have examined, by whole-genome microarray analysis, the mRNA abundance of genes in slender and stumpy forms of T.brucei AnTat1.1 cells, and also during their synchronous differentiation to procyclic forms. In total, five biological replicates representing the differentiation of matched parasite populations derived from five individual mouse infections were assayed, with RNAs being derived at key biological time points during the time course of their synchronous differentiation to procyclic forms. Importantly, the biological context of these mRNA profiles was established by assaying the coincident cellular events in each population (surface antigen exchange, morphological restructuring, cell cycle re-entry), thereby linking the observed gene expression changes to the well-established framework of trypanosome differentiation.Using stringent statistical analysis and validation of the derived profiles against experimentally-predicted gene expression and phenotypic changes, we have established the profile of regulated gene expression during these important life-cycle transitions. The highly synchronous nature of differentiation between stumpy and procyclic forms also means that these studies of mRNA profiles are directly relevant to the changes in mRNA abundance within individual cells during this well-characterised developmental transition.Gene expression analyses have proved useful for dissecting the basis of the changes that occur as cells and organisms transition between distinct cell types [1-3], developmental stages [4-6] or progress into disease states [7,8]. In many cases, these reflect the regulated activity of gene promoters, or altered stability of mature mRNAs, the integral of these resulting in measurable changes in the steady-state abundance for particular mRNAs. The relative contribution of these two components (regulated synthesis, vs. regulated turnover) to changes in the overall transcriptome of a cell varies, although regulated promote
%U http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2164/10/427