Identification and characterization of noncoding RNAs of the type TERRA and/or its counterparts expressed from subtelomeric region in Leishmania major

• Grant number: 16/06883-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: September 01, 2016
• End date: March 31, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Genetics - Molecular Genetics and Genetics of Microorganisms
• Principal Investigator: Maria Isabel Nogueira Cano
• Grantee: Edna Gicela Ortiz Morea
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IBB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 17/12987-5 - Application of Single-telomere length analysis (STELA), Telo-PCR and RNA-FISH to study Leishmania spp. telomere maintenance and transcription, BE.EP.DR

Abstract

Protozoa parasites of the Leishmania genus cause leishmaniasis, a neglected tropical disease, which presents different clinical forms and affects million of people in Brazil and around the world. There is no vaccine or effective treatment for leishmaniasis, and therefore studies that contribute to the understanding of the parasite's biology and physiology can provide a chance to find new therapeutic targets. Telomeres, whose primary function, is to maintain genome stability, if disturbed, it can directly affect the proliferation or multiplication of parasites. Telomeres of most eukaryotes, including Leishmania spp. are nucleoprotein structures located at the ends of the chromosomes, maintained by the action of telomerase. They are regulated by different processes among which are some long non-coding RNAs (lncRNA). Among the lncRNAs with telomeric function are TERRA (Telomeric containing Repeat RNA), which is involved in the regulation of telomere length and replication, DNA damage response and changes in the composition of telomeric chromatin. Although it is known for more than two decades that telomeres of different trypanosomatids, including Leishmania, are transcribed by different RNA polymerases, it is still unknown their transcription initiation site and from which telomeric strand they are generated. Therefore, this study aims to identify and characterize species of non-coding telomeric RNAs such as TERRA and its counterparts. Their transcription regulation and interactions with the telomeric machinery will also be studied. The possible roles of this telomeric lncRNAs will be studied in both parasite developmental forms which may provide major contributions to the understanding of telomere regulation in these organisms.

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

MOREA, Edna Gicela Ortiz. Molecular characterization of telomeric noncoding RNAs in Leishmania major. 2018. Doctoral Thesis - Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp). Instituto de Biociências. Botucatu Botucatu.